Connect (X)
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai told attendees of Connect (X) in Charlotte, NC yesterday the Commission has made progress on efforts to free-up more mid-band spectrum for wireless use.
Last year, the FCC said it would explore repurposing more C-band spectrum, specifically in the 3.7 to 4.2 GHz band. “We have done a lot of work on this issue in the time since—enough so that I’m pleased to announce that at the FCC’s July meeting, I intend to put up for a vote a proposal to make more intensive use of that 500 MHz of spectrum, including seeking additional input on making it available for commercial terrestrial use,” said Pai.
“We were thrilled that the Chairman announced that he’s going to make more spectrum available in the C-band and thrilled that he chose to make the announcement here at Connect (X), because spectrum drives infrastructure,” said Wireless Infrastructure President/CEO Jonathan Adelstein, in an interview with Inside Towers yesterday. “These new frequencies will require infrastructure in order to put them into use. The industry desperately needs more spectrum in order to meet consumer demand for more data. So we’re thrilled with the announcement, thrilled that the chairman made it here, and looking forward to seeing the activity at the FCC this summer,” Adelstein told Inside Towers.
He noted the agency intends to vote in just over two weeks on Pai’s latest plan for the Spectrum Frontiers proceeding. It would resolve pending sharing and operability issues in the 24 GHz band. As for low-band spectrum, the Chairman said the post-incentive auction transition for the 600 MHz band Is “going very well,” and noted that T-Mobile is already using that spectrum to provide mobile service in 28 states.
Concerning so-called “twilight” towers, “the FCC is moving forward on solving the long-standing issue,” he said. The agency sought public comment in December and is now working to get the document ready to go to the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. “Our objective is simple: Put this issue to rest after more than a dozen years and make thousands of structures available for the placement of additional infrastructure,” said Pai.
The Chairman endeared himself to WIA show attendees when he said he “geeks out” on the mention of infrastructure calling “that word” the “telecom version of the Royal Wedding.” He stopped off at the show as part of a week-long road trip from Virginia to Georgia to see some of the physical infrastructure the FCC regulates and learn from the people building those networks. “I enjoy meeting with engineers” to try and understand the technology, he said, adding he benefits from speaking with representatives in those companies to better understand the economics of buildout.
The Kansas native described scaling a utility pole in Florida three weeks ago on the side of a highway near Gainesville, FL to experience how difficult it is to string fiber; he found out about the risks posed by squirrels, he said to much laughter. Pai also met with Gulfport, MS-based MillerCo, which maintains and repairs towers, and saw small cell deployments by Charter and AT&T in Tampa and St. Petersburg.
Pai acknowledged the leadership many companies at the Charlotte Convention Center showed in their deployment of 4G throughout the country. Speaking about the global race to deploy 5G, Pai said: “being here in NASCAR country, I can’t help but think of Ricky Bobby’s most famous line from Talladega Nights: “If you ain’t first, you’re last.” The Chairman said U.S. regulators need to be aggressive in their policy decisions. “We should act,” as opposed to “talk,” if U.S. leadership “is the only acceptable option.”
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
May 24, 2018
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