Federal Communications Commission DA 22-750 DA 22-750 Released: July 12, 2022 THE WIRELESS TELECOMMUNICATIONS BUREAU AND THE OFFICE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY APPROVE SPECTRUM ACCESS SYSTEM ADMINISTRATORS AMDOCS, FEDERATED WIRELESS, INC., GOOGLE, KEY BRIDGE, AND SONY, CORP. TO SUPPORT SPECTRUM MANAGER LEASING GN DOCKET NO. 15-319 1. With this Public Notice, the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB) and the Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) (collectively, WTB/OET) of the Federal Communications Commission (Commission or FCC) approve Amdocs Inc, (Amdocs), Federated Wireless, Inc. (Federated), Google, Key Bridge, and Sony, Corp. (Sony) (collectively SAS administrators) to support spectrum manager leasing for Priority Access Licenses (PALs) in the 3.5 GHz band (3550-3700 MHz). See 47 CFR §§ 1.9046, 96.32, and 96.66. See Amendment of the Commission’s Rules with Regard to Commercial Operations in the 3550- 3650 MHz Band, GN Docket No. 15-319, Order on Reconsideration and Second Report and Order, 31 FCC Rcd 5011, 5014 (2016 WTB/OET) (“Second Report and Order”). 2. The Commission has established minimum standards that SAS administrators must meet if they choose to accept and support spectrum manager leasing arrangements. See 47 CFR §§ 1.9046, 96.32, and 96.66. Other types of leases, including de facto transfer leases, are governed by the standard processes described in part 1 of the Commission’s rules. See 47 CFR §§ 1.9001, et seq and 96.32. These minimum requirements establish that for a SAS administrator to support leasing arrangements, it must: (a) accept and store the information required in a licensee’s notification; (b) verify whether the lessee has made the required certification with the Commission; (c) verify that the lease will not result in the lessee holding more than the 40 megahertz of Priority Access spectrum in a given License Area, and that lessee operation will not extend beyond the licensee’s Service Area or within its PAL Protection Area; (d) inform the licensee as to whether the notification has been received and verified; and (e) provide the Commission with electronic reports of the leasing notifications it received on a daily basis. The Commission implemented a “light-touch” leasing notification framework to replace the immediate processing procedures of spectrum manager leases under section 1.9020(e)(2) of our existing rules. Priority Access Licensees and lessees may also enter into spectrum manager leases using the general 21-day notification procedure in section 1.9020(e)(1) of our current rules. See 47 C.F.R. §§ 1.9020 and 1.9046; Second Report and Order, 31 FCC Rcd at 5071, para. 213 & n.485. Regardless of whether the Priority Access Licensee and lessee enter into a spectrum manager lease via the light-touch notification process or the 21-day notification process, the Priority Access Licensee must notify a SAS administrator before the lessee is permitted to operate. See 47 C.F.R. § 1.9046(c); Second Report and Order, 31 FCC Rcd at 5074, para. 220. SAS administrators are required to comply with all applicable Commission rules regardless of the notification made. 3. WTB and OET approved Federated, Google, and Sony for full scale commercial deployment in the 3.5 GHz band on January 27, 2020, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau and Office of Engineering and Technology Approve Four Spectrum Access Administrators for Full Scale Commercial Deployment in the 3.5 GHz Band and Emphasize Licensee Compliance Obligations in the 3650-3700 MHz Band Under Part 96, GN Docket No. 15-319, Public Notice, 35 FCC Rcd 117 (2020 WTB/OET) (SAS Certification Public Notice) (contains procedural history of SAS approval process); see also 47 CFR Sections 0.241(j) and 0.331(f). and subsequently approved Amdocs on April 21, 2020 See Wireless Telecommunications Bureau and Office of Engineering and Technology Approve Spectrum Access System Administrator Amdocs for Full Scale Commercial Deployment in the 3.5 GHz Band, GN Docket No. 15-319, Public Notice, 35 FCC Rcd 3687 (WTB/OET Apr. 21, 2020) (Amdocs Public Notice). and Key Bridge on March 9, 2021. See Wireless Telecommunications Bureau and Office of Engineering and Technology Approve Spectrum Access System Administrator Key Bridge Wireless for Full Scale Commercial Deployment in the 3.5 GHz Band, GN Docket No. 15-319, Public Notice, DA 21-289 (WTB/OET Mar. 9, 2021) (Key Bridge Public Notice). In the approval Public Notices, WTB and OET stated that “[e]ach SAS that chooses to support PAL leasing must submit a supplemental filing in GN Docket No. 15-319 and demonstrate the functionality of its leasing system before offering PAL leasing services.” SAS Certification Public Notice, 35 FCC Rcd at 120, para. 5; Amdocs Public Notice, 35 FCC Rcd at 3689, para 5; Key Bridge Public Notice at 4, para 5. These “supplemental filings” must include all information necessary for WTB/OET to make a determination regarding the SAS’s ability to interact with Commission systems to acquire and submit all required lease information. See 47 C.F.R. § 96.66(a)(2). The Commission developed a dedicated application programming interface (API) within the Universal Licensing System (ULS) to support notifications from the SASs regarding spectrum manger lease notifications submitted under the immediate processing rules. See 47 C.F.R. §§ 1.9020(e) and 1.9046. 4. Amdocs, Federated, Google, Sony, and Key Bridge have made the requisite supplemental filings. See Letter from Megan Anne Stull, Senior Counsel, and Andrew W. Clegg, Spectrum Engineering Lead, Google LLC, to Marlene H. Dortch, Secretary, FCC, GN Docket No. 15-319 (filed Aug. 5, 2021); Letter from Megan Anne Stull, Senior Counsel, and Andrew W. Clegg, Spectrum Engineering Lead, Google LLC, to Marlene H. Dortch, Secretary, FCC, GN Docket No. 15-319 (filed Apr. 13, 2022); Letter from Jennifer M. McCarthy, Vice President, Legal Advocacy, Federated Wireless, Inc., to Marlene H. Dortch, Secretary, FCC, GN Docket No. 15-319 (filed Jun. 1, 2021); Letter from Jennifer M. McCarthy, Vice President, Legal Advocacy, Federated Wireless, Inc., to Marlene H. Dortch, Secretary, FCC, GN Docket No. 15-319 (filed Feb. 4, 2022); Letter from James Morgan, Director and Counsel, Sony Electronics Inc., to Marlene H. Dortch, Secretary, FCC, GN Docket No. 15-319 (filed Sep. 21, 2021); Letter from James Morgan, Director and Counsel, Sony Electronics Inc., to Marlene H. Dortch, Secretary, FCC, GN Docket No. 15-319 (filed Feb. 21, 2022); Letter from Jesse Caulfield, CEO of Key Bridge Wireless LLC, to Marlene H. Dortch, Secretary, FCC, GN Docket No. 15-319 (filed Aug. 30, 2021); Letter from Timothy L. Branford, Counsel to Key Bridge Wireless LLC, to Marlene H. Dortch, Secretary, FCC, GN Docket No. 15-319 (filed Feb. 16, 2022) (Confidential Treatment Requested); Letter from Timothy L. Branford, Counsel to Key Bridge Wireless LLC, to Marlene H. Dortch, Secretary, FCC, GN Docket No. 15-319 (filed May 16, 2022) (Confidential Treatment Requested); Letter from Robert A. Silverman, Counsel for Amdocs, Inc., to Marlene H. Dortch, Secretary, FCC, GN Docket No. 15-319 (filed Mar. 24, 2022); Letter from Robert A. Silverman, Counsel for Amdocs, Inc., to Marlene H. Dortch, Secretary, FCC, GN Docket No. 15-319 (filed May 19, 2022). Each of these SAS administrators has agreed to support PAL spectrum manager lease agreements in compliance with sections 96.32 and 96.66 of the Commission’s rules, certified that it will satisfy the requirements outlined in the Second Report and Order, and demonstrated the ability to successfully interact with the requisite Commission systems. Accordingly, Amdocs, Federated, Google, Key Bridge, and Sony are approved to support spectrum manager leasing of Priority Access Licenses subject to the conditions set forth below and ongoing compliance with the Commission’s rules and instructions. See SAS Certification Public Notice, 35 FCC Rcd at 118-120, para. 5. While this approval modifies the current authorizations for SAS administrators, it does not alter the five-year term of service for SASs established in Part 96 of our rules. See 47 C.F.R. § 96.63(e). 5. These approvals are conditioned on ongoing compliance with technical limitations governing use of the ULS API. Specifically, leasing information may only be entered into the API Monday through Friday between the hours of 9:00 am and 5:00 pm eastern. Each SAS administrator is permitted to submit a maximum of five leases per minute during this window. Although SAS administrators may enter information into the API only during the identified hours and days, this does not affect their ability to accept leases at other times. We also remind SAS administrators that they are permitted to execute leases only between Priority Access Licensees and qualified lessees. See 47 CFR § 1.9046(b). A list of Priority Access Licensees and other qualified lessees can be found at: https://www.fcc.gov/35-ghz-band-overview (“Secondary Markets for Priority Access Licenses” tab). By the Acting Chief, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, and the Acting Chief, Office of Engineering and Technology. -FCC- 2