Rep. Doris Matsui (D-CA) has been working to draft a measure that would take into account many aspects of different proposals to clear some C-band spectrum for wireless use (see top story). Wednesday, she introduced a final version of her 5G WIN Act, reports Multichannel News.
“As introduced, the WIN 5G Act includes stronger timeframes for the review and reallocation plan to be completed — ensuring that this spectrum can be repurposed for 5G rapidly and equitably,” said Matsui, who also co-chairs the Congressional Spectrum Caucus. The transition facilitation plan, “complete with technical, frequency migration, and end-user protection plans,” has to be submitted to the FCC no later than four months after the date of the bill’s enactment.
The agency then has two months “to ensure the plan is adequate,” including time for any needed corrections.
The measure includes R&D funds to free up more spectrum (3.45 to 3.55 GHz) and sends some of the auction proceeds from a C-band auction into a Rural Broadband Deployment Fund. A minimum of four incumbent satellite operators would need to develop a transition plan. The Commission would review the plan and either accept it, modify it or reject it with instructions to fix it, according to Multichannel News.
The satellite operators would receive an escalating cut of the auction proceeds based on how much spectrum is cleared. The plan would cover transition costs of incumbent broadcasters and cable operators.
August 8, 2019
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