The U.S. Federal Communications Commission voted to advance a public notice that proposes procedures for a spectrum auction in the 3.5 GHz band, which the wireless industry considers crucial for 5G deployment.
At the FCC's open meeting Sept. 26, Ajit Pai said that when he became the agency's chairman, the regulator lacked the proper rules to encourage 5G deployment in the band. But FCC reforms in 2018 "made 3.5 GHz licenses much more appealing for 5G operations and will encourage the rapid deployment of next-generation wireless networks in the band." 5G is set to offer download speeds many times faster than the current 4G LTE wireless networks.
Before 2015, the band was primarily used by fixed satellite services and federal agencies, such as the U.S. Defense Department. In 2015, the FCC sought to promote spectrum sharing among federal and nonfederal users in the 3.5 GHz band. The agency collaborated with key stakeholders to establish three tiers of users, some of which were nonrenewable and confined geographically to a single census tract for three or six years.
To spur 5G investment and deployment in the band, the FCC voted in 2018 to expand priority access licenses, a user tier in the band, to encompass entire counties. The order also extended the licensing terms to 10 years and added the option to renew them. These changes made them more in line with traditional wireless licenses.
Bidding in the auction is scheduled to begin June 25, 2020. The FCC approved initial commercial deployments to five companies in the 3.5 GHz mid-band spectrum Sept. 16, including Alphabet Inc.'s Google LLC and CommScope Holding Company Inc.
Democratic FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, who voted for the item, encouraged the agency to hold the auction in 2019 to make more mid-band spectrum available sooner. Mid-band spectrum is seen as important for 5G since high-band spectrum cannot travel far distances or penetrate certain surfaces and low-band spectrum is crowded from 4G wireless services.
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As a result of the vote, the FCC will be formally seeking comment on some of the procedures for the auction.
Additionally, the agency voted to approve a report and order that will allocate about $950 million for broadband networks in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The funds will be used to help deploy and expand "high-speed, storm-hardened networks" in the territories, which were hit hard by hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017, according to an FCC fact sheet.
Pai said in prepared remarks that the FCC needs to "execute a long-term strategy to improve, expand, and harden broadband networks" on the islands, since hurricanes threaten the region annually, as well as to close the digital divide in the territories.
The funds will be offered as a phase two round that follows earlier assistance provided through the FCC's Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund and Connect USVI Fund, which was created in 2018. The first round of funding assisted in restoration efforts in the aftermath of the hurricanes. Funds will come from the agency's Universal Service Fund, which connects unserved and rural areas with telecommunications services.
Additionally, the FCC approved an order that, in part, adopts rules to shift financial responsibility for certain excessive access charges under the commission's intercarrier compensation rules.
Intercarrier compensation occurs when a carrier pays another carrier to transport, originate or terminate telecommunications traffic. One form of compensation is an access charge, which applies to calls that start and end in different local calling areas.
Pai said in a blog post earlier this month that "bad actors ... increase their access charge revenues (in other words, make money) by purposely and inefficiently inflating high-volume call traffic — like 'free' conferencing calling or chat line traffic." As a result, long-distance carriers have historically paid for the services, according to Pai. The order now switches the financial burden for excessive access charges from long-distance providers to certain local exchange carriers.
The commission also advanced a further notice of proposed rulemaking. It would change a requirement that certain broadcast applicants to the FCC file a public notice in newspapers or on-air to allow broadcasters to provide public notice online.
Finally, the FCC approved an order that aims to modernize and streamline rules governing direct broadcast satellite service, which is a satellite television service that uses geostationary satellites to transmit signals.

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