FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler took to the CTIA keynote stage to relive early days of the industry, talk about spectrum plans to bolster 5G technology
LAS VEGAS – Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler took to the CTIA show stage for an opening keynote address that looked back a bit on his tenure as head of the trade organization while also looking ahead to the work the government agency is doing in terms of spectrum to support the rollout of next-generation “5G” technology.
Wheeler first touched on his tenure at CTIA, where he headed up his first trade show in 1992, and the trade organization had just celebrated the wireless industry reaching the 10 million customer mark. The history lesson was used to remark on how far the mobile telecom space has come in the ensuing years to its current position on the cusp of networks set to connect just about any device.
“When I stood on this stage years ago, I was constantly saying, ‘You ain’t seen nothing yet,’ ” Wheeler said. “Well, pardon me for being repetitive, because here comes 5G.”
In laying out what the FCC needs to do in order to foster the continued development and deployment of 5G, Wheeler said competition is key as rival carriers have pushed each other to better their networks to the tune of $33 billion in investments last year, and nearly $100 billion over the past three years. As part of maintaining that competitive environment, Wheeler reiterated comments made earlier in the keynote proceedings by AT&T Mobility CEO and President Glenn Lurie, who asked the government to maintain a “light-touch” regulatory approach to the market.
“We should forbear from rules like rate regulation that don’t make sense for the kind of services offered, while preserving the right to throw the flag if needed to protect consumers and competition,” Wheeler noted. “This approach has worked for over 20 years for your industry and is the model for our new Open Internet rules.”
Outside of regulatory concerns, Wheeler also said the FCC needs to ensure the market has an ample supply of spectrum to foster the development and rollout of new wireless technologies. In terms of the spectrum work, Wheeler again touched on the FCC’s move to target low-, mid- and high-band spectrum resources in support of the telecom industry’s push into 5G.
The low-band aspect of the initiative surrounds the FCC’s ongoing 600 MHz incentive auction, which is looking to transition spectrum from television broadcasters to the mobile telecom space – for a price. The auction recently failed to match broadcaster demand for more than $86 billion in compensation for a total of 126 megahertz of spectrum, but is set to take the next step in the process with a second stage that will begin with finding out what broadcasters will want for 114 megahertz of spectrum.
Wheeler was notably short on the incentive auction topic, considering he had been championing the exceedingly complex and controversial program over the past year. Instead, he cited past FCC victories tied to the more than $40 billion generated through the AWS-3 auction and work done in the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service, both of which are lumped into the agency’s midband spectrum efforts.
Looking further upstream, Wheeler also touted the FCC’s work in the recent Spectrum Frontiers proceedings, which is set to include 3.85 gigahertz of new spectrum for licensed use in the 28 GHz, 37 GHz and 39 GHz bands, and 7 gigahertz for unlicensed use across the 64 GHz to 71 GHz bands.
“In all three of these allocations, the Commission sticks to a proven formula: Lead the world in spectrum availability, encourage and protect innovation-driving competition, and stay out of the way of technological development and the details of implementation,” Wheeler explained.
The FCC chairman also said the agency will soon launch an electronic filing system to accept applications for program experimental licenses, which are expected to provide greater flexibility for the entities looking to conduct “experiments and field tests of 5G technologies at scale.”
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