McDowell Sees Difficulties Ahead for AWS-3 Auction Pairing
The federal government needs to do a “bona fide audit” of its spectrum holdings, said former FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell, a Hudson Institute visiting fellow, Monday at a Hudson event. The White House and Congress need to “make it a priority to have there be a transparent -- as transparent as possible -- but meaningful audit of federal spectrum, and then move on to implement policies that would promote the auction of exclusive-use licenses,” McDowell said. The federal government’s use of its spectrum holdings in the 1755-1780 MHz band has been an ongoing debate as federal agencies seek to clear government users from swaths of the band to allow commercial use. Federal users need to be given an incentive to move off the band, but the process remains “opaque,” McDowell said. “I know a lot of federal spectrum is used for very important purposes, but I think we can all assume that not all of that spectrum is being used efficiently -- or sometimes not at all -- and that there would be a greater societal and economic benefit were it auctioned.” Troubles also lie ahead for the desired pairing of the 1755 band with the 2155-2180 MHz band in an AWS-3 spectrum auction, he said.
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Carl Povelites, AT&T assistant vice president-mobility public policy, said he has become more optimistic in recent months that the federal government will be able to work with industry to clear the 1755 band in time to hold an auction that pairs it with the 2155 band, which carriers have long sought. The FCC must license the 2155-2180 MHz band by February 2015. Povelites said he was especially encouraged by the Department of Defense’s letter offering to give up its use of the 1755 band. The DOD proposal seeks to trade the band for continued use of the 1780-1850 MHz band and shared use of broadcast auxiliary spectrum in the 2025-2110 MHz band (CD July 23 p1). “If that’s used as a baseline, I think we do have the possibility of making that commercially viable in the near future,” Povelites said. There have also been encouraging signs on Capitol Hill, including the Efficient Use of Government Spectrum Act which would require the FCC to pair the 1755-1780 MHz and 2155-2180 MHz bands for auction (CD July 19 p4). Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., and others have also called for the bands’ pairing, Povelites said. Comments on an FCC NPRM exploring future use of the 1755-1780 MHz, 2155-2180 MHz and two other AWS-3 bands are due Wednesday.
It will be difficult for the FCC to ready an auction of the 1755 and 2155 bands by the February 2015 statutory deadline under even the best circumstances, McDowell said. The FCC began its 700 MHz auction in December 2007, about six months after it adopted the auction’s final rules and a year after it began crafting the order, McDowell said. “So you're looking at a year and a half or more,” he said. “So what does happen? Does the commission ignore that deadline? What are the implications if the commission misses the deadline without Congress moving it? I've never heard of the U.S. Marshals coming to the FCC and having lawyers and engineers write an order at point of bayonet. I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
Acting FCC Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn has covered a great deal of ground in the short period she has led the agency, particularly her “quick work” to hold the H-Block auction beginning in January 2014, McDowell said. The FCC is still waiting for the confirmation of FCC nominees Tom Wheeler and Mike O'Rielly -- and the agency has finite resources for working on the AWS-3 bands and the pending 600 MHz incentive auction, he said. “Having said that, there are some very talented people working on this and I'm sure there are a lot of plans being drawn up that will allow the commission to act quickly when the new chair comes on board,” McDowell said.
There are options available to deal with the 2155 band separately if the FCC is unable to pair 1755 and 2155 -- but Povelites said he doesn’t believe they're viable. The FCC could conceivably offer 2155 as a downlink-only band, but “the big concern there is who would be interested in it and what would … that spectrum then go for?” Povelites said. Pairing 2155 with the 1755 band brings a lot more value, he said. The FCC could also auction 2155 as a Time Division Duplex band, though that would bring “significant interference issues” and would require the use of major guard bands, Povelites said. (jphillips@warren-news.com)