UPDATE FCC Chair Brendan Carr blogged last week that the agency will vote later this month on a Notice of Inquiry that asks whether the Commission should open up additional portions of the C-band (3.98-4.2 GHz) “for more intensive use,” Inside Towers reported. The FCC released 280 MHz of mid-band spectrum in the C-band for 5G in 2020. CTIA applauded the Chairman “for his swift action in exploring how best to make the Upper C-band available for 5G wireless commercial use.”
But NewStreet Research doesn’t believe “the wireless industry should be popping champagne yet,” writes NSR Policy Advisor Blair Levin in a client report. That’s because Carr “did not say he was opening up the spectrum for 5G wireless commercial use. For another, Starlink has already weighed in, advocating that the FCC do something different than what CTIA (T, VZ, and TMUS) would want,” says Levin, previously FCC Chief of Staff under former Chairman Reed Hundt.
Levin says the spectrum allocation decision may be indicative of how Carr will handle tensions between the wireless industry and Starlink owner Elon Musk.
Starlink asserts in a January 30 letter to the Commission, “The merger between SES and Intelsat creates a unique opportunity to enable more competition and more services for Americans by opening 200 MHz of critical mid-band spectrum for additional sharing among next-generation satellite systems.”
Starlink owner SpaceX says, “SpaceX does not oppose the merger between SES and Intelsat, nor is it suggesting they have spectrum taken away. Rather, SpaceX is proposing the Commission modernize the 200 MHz of the upper C-band to ensure that this critical mid-band spectrum is put to its highest and best use for American consumers by sharing the band across multiple operators in addition to the merged entity that already controls more than 90 percent of the band.”
Starlink does not want an auction of C-band spectrum; it wants to be able to share the spectrum, Levin explains.
“Given Carr’s long history on spectrum and his views about the success of the C-band auction, we would think he would favor the CTIA position,” says Levin. He says overall, Carr has been “very sympathetic” to the desires of the wireless industry to obtain more spectrum.
But given the power of Musk in the Trump Administration, Carr’s history is running into current realities, according to Levin. “In the last year, Carr has often been a strong advocate for Musk and satellites on issues relating to, for example, RDOF and BEAD.” Now, Levin calls Musk “the most influential voice affecting telecom policy in the Trump Administration,” and believes Musk will likely end up in conflicts with wireless carriers over spectrum policy.
While the outcome is far from certain, NSR gives an edge to wireless interests. “Carr wants to distinguish himself from Rosenworcel in holding a big auction. While he may want an auction of the lower 3 GHz band, given Department of Defense opposition” it’s “far from certain” that will happen, notes the policy expert. He believes multiple compromises are available, such as allocating some spectrum to exclusive use and some to satellite sharing, “or getting back more spectrum from the current users.”
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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