Federal Communications Commission	FCC 19-96


STATEMENT OF
COMMISSIONER MICHAEL O’RIELLY

Re:	Auction of Priority Access Licenses for the 3550-3650 MHz Band; Comment Sought on Competitive Bidding Procedures for Auction 105; Bidding in Auction 105 Scheduled to Begin June 25, 2020, AU Docket No. 19-244

Hallelujah!   

With every passing day, CBRS is becoming more of a reality and now we have an auction date!  I am delighted to vote in favor of today’s Public Notice seeking comment on the procedures for the June 25, 2020, priority access license, or PAL, auction.  This item provides interested parties not only the opportunity to comment on the proposed auction structure, but also a necessary heads-up so that they can formulate their bidding strategies and business plans to actively participate in the auction.

It has been a great two weeks for CBRS.  Last week started out with a public notice announcing that the first group of Spectrum Access System providers could initiate commercial service in the band, which was followed by a very well-attended and enormously successful CBRS, rebranded as OnGo, launch event.  I was honored to be invited, represent the Commission, and address such a broad cross-section of esteemed industry professionals.  But, the best – and most memorable – part was to experience the excitement in the room about the future of 3.5 GHz.  After all this time, it was great to see everyone’s hard work come to fruition, especially the Commission’s.  Now, the true fun begins:  We get to see what America’s innovators, entrepreneurs, and creative minds will make of this band.

Until the completion of the PAL auction, CBRS spectrum will be available under our unlicensed-like General Authorized Access rules.  This will allow industry to prove that this new sharing mechanism will work to protect incumbents when clearing is not an option.  Hopefully, in the near future, we can review and improve the protection zones, technical rules, and power limits to ensure that they are not larger or more protective than necessary.  Such tweaks will make it easier for industry to provide services to the millions of Americans clamoring for more wireless services and devices.  We don’t know the full panoply of possible offerings to come – that is something the market will ultimately decide – but with 5G standards on the way, 3.5 GHz is likely to be one of the first 5G bands deployed, despite the previous naysayers.

As far as the Public Notice before us, it is fairly straightforward in seeking comment and providing initial details on the upcoming auction.  Some parties asked questions about and sought clarification on the CMA-level bidding concept, and I am comfortable with that.  The truth is that allowing such bidding in only the largest markets doesn’t skew the outcome, favor any particular auction participants, or have any real impact on rural markets.  It merely provides a bidding tool to ease participation for entities that seek larger geographic areas and was part of the balanced, negotiated agreement that resulted in county-sized licenses, rather than larger units.  

In the grand scheme, the great step forward we take today doesn’t eliminate the need for more mid-band spectrum.  In fact, I look forward to Commission action on 3.7 to 4.2 GHz in the coming months:  Let’s get C-Band done!  And, I was pleased to hear the Chairman recently say that Commission staff is studying how commercial services can be introduced into to the 3.1 to 3.55 GHz band.  We should also be doing all we can to promote the global harmonization of these frequencies, particularly 3.1 to 3.4 GHz, which does not have a mobile allocation, so that offerings will be cost effective and internationally available.  Additionally, we must expedite our work on the 6 GHz band to ensure there is enough spectrum for unlicensed services, and we should start actively pursuing 7 GHz, which Representatives Doyle and Latta implicated earlier this week as well.

Finally, I thank the Chairman for making this band a priority and providing me with the opportunity to lead the PAL review, my fellow Commissioners for working with me to get us to this point, and the dedicated Commission staff who have put in – and continue to dedicate – countless hours to make this band a success. 
 

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