FCC may auction portion of C Band spectrum for 5G
" C Band is a frequency spectrum used by communication satellite which ranges from 3.7GHz to 4.2GHz in the mid-band area placed in the sub 6 frequency category."
U.S. FCC chairman Ajit Pai twitted on monday outlining a plan to auction a portion of the valuable so-called "C band" frequencies for 5G use. In the tweet he talks about freeing up significant spectrum for 5G with out interrupting the 120 million American subscribers relying on the C band for services. Pai believes that a portion of the frequencies can be auctioned and repurposed for 5G while still preserving a solid chunk for satellite programming. He wrote “I’m confident they’ll quickly conduct a public auction that will give everyone a fair chance to compete for this #5G spectrum, while preserving availability of the upper 200 MHz of the band for continued delivery of programming,”
I've outlined four principles that the @FCC must advance regarding C-band spectrum: we must (1) free up significant spectrum for #5G, (2) do so quickly, (3) generate revenue for the federal government, and (4) ensure continued delivery of services currently using the C-band.
— Ajit Pai (@AjitPaiFCC) November 18, 2019
C Band is a frequency spectrum used by communication satellite which ranges from 3.7GHz to 4.2GHz in the mid-band area placed in the sub 6 frequency category. This mid band range and lower frequency will make th e most substantial impact across the widest possible area as lower frequencies tend to propagate better than the higher frequencies. The proposed auction will open the a chunk of 280MHz frequencies for 5G use.
Major satellite service providers including Intelsat SA, Telesat and SES SA, which hold the existing C-band licenses, have proposed selling the spectrum privately to wireless carriers, arguing a private sale would make the spectrum available for 5G faster. But that has drawn criticism from some U.S. lawmakers.
Verizon also expressed its support for the auction saying “any auction should include appropriate incentives and protections to ensure it could be put to use in short order.” Verizon added “China and other countries have already provided huge blocks of mid-band spectrum to carriers for 5G, and there is a risk that those countries will become the hub of 5G innovation and investment if the US fails to act promptly to do the same.”
Source: Reuters
Biplav Gachhadar
