C-band

The airline industry has filed an emergency petition at the FCC asking that the commission stop implementation of rules for the rollout of 5G in the band and suggesting not to do so could cost the airline industry a billion dollars and delay shipments of COVID-19 vaccines and tests. It is just the latest battle line in the air war between the FCC and aviation over what the latter says is the potential for dangerous interference to critical aviation systems like altimeters.

USSI Global’s C-Band Interference Mitigation solution will upgrade the station group’s satellite facilities for the FCC’s C-Band transition, add managed services and a support layer for network operations.

The FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau has denied the second petition to delay the C-band spectrum repack and auction mandated in the 3.7 GHz Report and Order.

Broadcasters have advised the FCC not to finalize its cost catalog for reimbursable C-Band moving expenses until broadcasters have vetted satellite operator transition plans and to be prepared for COVID-19-related boosts in those expenses.

The FCC will be making some big spectrum-related decisions Friday (Feb. 28) at its February public meeting that will affect broadcast and cable operators. The commission is scheduled to vote on freeing up 300 MHz of the 500 MHz C-Band satellite spectrum for next-gen terrestrial wireless, in the process repacking satellite operators and their broadcast and cable clients into smaller space and potentially paying those satellite operators billions to exit the spectrum early.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has laid out his plan for how the C-band will be used to spur 5G development, announcing his plans to conduct a public auction of 280 MHz of the spectrum with a potential launch date of Dec. 8.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has decided to hold a public auction of C-Band spectrum. That is the midband spectrum the FCC wants to free up for 5G, and that is the proposal that the chairman signaled Monday he would be asking the other commissioners to vote to approve in an order early next year.

While the FCC could wave its wand and turn all C-band downlinks into just so much scrap metal, optimism runs high that the CBA’s proposal for reapportionment of the 500 MHz spectrum and band sharing will be the outcome—if 5G does have to be accommodated. However, that approach involves the addition of an LNB filter, and likely will require retuning receivers and moving dishes to different satellites.

As if the last “spectrum reallocation” and subsequent repack hasn’t provided enough drama, there’s another move afoot to further trim broadcasters’ operational resources. This one hasn’t received the notice that the big “reverse auction” commanded, but it has the potential to send TV, radio, and cable system operators scrambling, should the FCC (and wireless providers) have their way.

NAB’s Patrick McFadden: “The conventional wisdom in the communications arena is that the United States is engaged in a race to be the first nation to deploy the next generation of wireless technology: 5G. But while many insist on the importance of winning the “Race to 5G,” we somehow can’t quite get out of the starting blocks.”

As promised at a recent hearing, Rep. Doris Matsui, co-chair of the Congressional Spectrum Caucus, has released a discussion draft of a C-Band repurposing compromise bill, the Wireless Investment Now in 5G Act, that would have the FCC auctioning some or all of the (3700-4200 MHz) midband spectrum in its effort to free up more airwaves for next-gen wireless broadband.

As owners of earth stations, broadcasters may be able to cut themselves in for a portion of the billions that satellite operators hope to get from the sale of some of their C-band spectrum to 5G wireless carriers. But I’d rather see the taxpayers get the excess proceeds.

NAB has called on the FCC to recognize the important role C-band plays in content delivery for radio and television stations, MVPDs and OTT operators, to be judicious in the way it makes decisions about reallocating part of the band for wireless use and not to take steps that will degrade C-band satellite service by allowing shared use in the non-reallocated part of the band.

The FCC has issued a reminder to all operators “of fixed-satellite service (FSS) earth stations in the 3.7-4.2 GHz band that were constructed and operational as of April 19, 2018, that the filing window to license or register such earth stations closes on Oct. 17, 2018.” This frequency band is commonly referred to as the C-Band, and many of the FSS earth stations are satellite dishes that receive programming used by both radio and TV stations.