/>i900 MHz Broadband Petition for Rulemaking
Last week, a Petition for Rulemaking was filed by several industry players including the Enterprise Wireless Alliance and Anterix, Inc. requesting the FCC provide an option for 5/5 MHz broadband networks in the 900 MHz band. The proposed rule change is meant to support wide-area, private, and secure wireless broadband networks for business enterprise entities. The proposed rules would allow initial 5/5 MHz authorizations or the expansion of 3/3 MHz licenses upon application. The petitioners emphasize that incumbent relocation from the 900 MHz narrowband segments would be voluntary.
Dish and T-Mobile 800 MHz Deal Falters
In 2020, T-Mobile agreed to sell its 800 MHz spectrum to Dish Network to receive approval for its acquisition of Sprint. Last week, Dish Network parent company EchoStar Corporation filed a Form 10-K with the SEC that revealed it had not secured the necessary financing to pay T-Mobile for its 800 MHz spectrum by the April 1 deadline contemplated in the deal. Dish Network had paid T-Mobile $100 million to keep the option to buy the 800 MHz spectrum open past the original June 2023 deadline but has now forfeited that money. The spectrum would have been used to blanket large areas with wireless coverage.
Comment Cycle set in 6 GHz Band Proceeding
Last year, the FCC released rules to allow very low power devices to operate in the U-NII-5 and U-NII-7 portions of the 6 GHz band, which accounts for 850 megahertz of spectrum (Vol. XX, Issue 43). The rules were adopted alongside a Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“Further Notice”) seeking comment on whether the FCC should expand use of very low power (“VLP”) devices to an additional 350 MHz of the 6 GHz band. The Further Notice also asked whether higher power VLP devices should be permitted to operate only in locations where potential harmful interference is insignificant. Comments and reply comments on the Further Notice are due by March 27 and April 26, respectively.
Filing Dates for Pole Attachment Proceeding
The FCC extended the reply comment deadline to March 13 for its Third Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“Further Notice”) regarding pole attachment make-ready deadlines, self-help remedies and make-ready contractor availability. Filing dates were also set for the petition filed by our Coalition of Concerned Utilities to reconsider the new requirement that utilities provide pole inspection reports. Oppositions and comments in support are due March 15, and replies are due March 25.
Thomas B. Magee, Tracy P. Marshall, Sean A. Stokes, and Wesley K. Wright also contributed to this article.
