CBRS

Oil and gas producer Oxy, and subsidiary Anadarko, asked the FCC to extend until Jan. 8, 2023, licenses that fall under the citizens broadband radio service transition. The licenses cover leases in New Mexico, Texas, Utah, Colorado and elsewhere in the Gulf of Mexico. That date is when its last license expires, Oxy filed in docket 18-353. The companies “rely heavily on the 3650-3700 MHz band to provide critical monitoring and automation for oil and gas production systems,” Oxy said: “The 3650-3700 MHz networks that the Parties have operated on for the last nine years support telemetry and pipeline measurement data systems."

Commissioners approved an NPRM 5-0 on clearing 3.1-3.55 GHz, seen by some as a sleeper item with big implications. The item sparked a debate among members on whether the FCC is doing enough on mid-band spectrum. Senate Appropriations Financial Services Subcommittee Chairman John Kennedy, R-La., sat through 90 minutes of the meeting, signaling his ongoing concerns about setting rules for an upcoming auction of the 3.7-4.2 GHz C band.

WTA said it supports a request last year by the Wireless ISP Association and the Utilities Technology Council that the FCC waive requirements that 3650-3700 MHz licensees complete the transition to Part 96 citizens broadband radio service rules by April 17 (see 1812040002). “WTA did not participate during the earlier stages of this proceeding, but has recently become aware that some of its members have been using the … band to provide fixed wireless broadband service to significant numbers of their rural customers and that these members are not going to be able to conform their operations to the Part 96 CBRS rules” by the deadline, said a filing in docket 18-353, posted Tuesday.

The FCC may have to backtrack on proposed rules for the citizens broadband radio service band after getting essentially no support in the record for cellular market area-level bidding in June’s auction of priority access licenses (PALs). Only T-Mobile backed CMA-level bidding but not using the FCC-proposed scheme (see 1911130056). Commissioners approved a notice in September that proposes to allow bidding on a CMA-level basis, rather than just by counties, in the top 172 CMAs. Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks voted for the notice, though with reservations on CMA-level bidding (see 1909260040).

Federated Wireless demonstrated a fully functional automated frequency coordinator (AFC) prototype for unlicensed services in the citizens broadband radio service band "while ensuring protection of existing services,” said Chief Technology Officer Kurt Schaubach and others in FCC meetings. An AFC can “enable new unlicensed services in the 6 GHz band as quickly as possible.” Federated discussed “potential coexistence issues at the C-Band/CBRS band edge, and the opportunity to leverage automated spectrum access tools to accelerate deployment of new terrestrial broadband services in the C-Band,” said a filing in docket 17-258, posted Friday. Federated met aides to Commissioners Mike O’Rielly, Brendan Carr and Jessica Rosenworcel and Wireless Bureau and the Office of Engineering and Technology staff, it reported. "Industry has coalesced around the need for an AFC for a wide variety of use cases.”

The FCC got pushback on a proposal to allow license sizes larger than counties in the priority access licenses that will be sold to provide more protected use of the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service band. Even larger carriers consider the plan flawed and sought changes. With a C-band auction looming, questions emerged on how likely carriers are to pursue the PALs during next June’s auction (see 1910170045). Many filings talked about the impact on rural areas and bidders.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai indicated that the 2.5 GHz auction will follow on the heels of the 3.5 GHz auction, slated to start in June. “With almost 200 megahertz, this is the largest contiguous band of terrestrial, flexible use spectrum below 3 GHz in the United States,” Pai told the Citizens Broadband Radio Service Alliance Wednesday. Given the timetable in a recent Office of Economics and Analytics auction report (see 1909300064), that could put the start of the 2.5 GHz before the end of the CBRS sale and Sept. 30. Work continues on CBRS, Pai said. “We can’t let up, because our work is not done.” Spectrum access system administrators “need to report back to us to let us know that the dynamic sharing is working without any interference problems, so we’ll be monitoring that closely,” he said: “If the sharing regime works as we expect, we can continue to fine tune the system, adjusting protection zones and power levels.” An order approved by commissioners in July rewriting rules for the band 2.5 GHz educational broadband service band, including an eventual auction (see 1907100054), is partly effective Nov. 25, with other parts 184 days after publication, says Friday's Federal Register.

Comments are due Oct. 28, replies Nov. 12 on a public notice FCC commissioners approved 5-0 last month (see 1909260040) on rules for an auction of the licensed part of the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service band. The auction is to start June 25. The docket is 19-244, said Wednesday's Federal Register.

Michael Calabrese, director of the Wireless Future Program at New America, met an aide to Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel to oppose cellular market area (CMA) bidding in June's citizens broadband radio service auction. A notice approved 5-0 in September proposes bidding by CMA, rather than by county, in the top 172 markets. Rosenworcel expressed concerns (see 1909260040). Calabrese asked whether Rosenworcel had received "any explanation concerning the rationale” for CMA bidding, said a filing posted Friday in docket 19-244. “The proposed CMA rules appear to be a duplicitous reversal of the hard-fought compromise that the Commission adopted in last year’s Order.” Questions remain about the auction despite rule rejiggering (see 1910170045).

Many questions remain about the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service band and how many carriers will bid in June’s auction of priority access licenses, industry officials said. FCC officials remain optimistic. One wild card is the regulator's looking at a private C-band auction before the PALs auction, which could siphon interest in the shared band (see 1910100052).