Keep Small Licenses in CBRS Band, Utilities and Tech Companies Ask FCC

Tech and utility interests said the FCC should retain census-tract-sized licenses for priority access licenses in the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service band. They countered arguments by AT&T and T-Mobile (see 1804240067) that the FCC should adopt larger sizes to make PALs more viable. “The Commission has previously and rightly concluded that its rules should ensure that the 3.5 GHz band remains compatible with the full range of users and business models that the CBRS rules were intended to support in urban areas,” said a filing in docket 17-258. Among those signing were the American Petroleum Institute, Edison Electric Institute, Enterprise Wireless Alliance, Exelon, General Electric, Google, Motorola Solutions, pdvWireless, the Port of Los Angeles, Southern Linc, Union Pacific and the Utilities Technology Council. “To support their claims, AT&T and T-Mobile highlight a single implausible scenario in an attempt to show that the existing rules do not easily support large-carrier business models,” the filing said. “The Commission should recognize this example as only one of many possible deployment scenarios for major carriers, which is not demonstrative of the utility of the band for all carriers’ deployments over multiple contiguous census tracts, much less those of other potential innovative users.” The two carriers didn't comment Thursday. NCTA said it supports a proposal on the PALs by Charter Communications, which offers an alternative to CTIA and the Competitive Carriers Association's plan (see 1804230064). The operator wants the 3.5 GHz band licensed in the top 10 percent of metropolitan statistical area cellular market areas on a county basis, the next 275 largest CMAs licensed by MSA and the remaining CMAs by county. NCTA has before advocated 3.5 GHz priority access licenses should be granted on a county basis (see 1708090058). The cable group said, posted Thursday, that county-sized licenses in rural and urban markets "could make all the difference" in helping attract different investors with different models and maximizing participation. T-Mobile said in a filing the use of census tracts would create problems, especially in cities. “Licensing PALs by census tracts in urban areas will not expand the pool of providers meaningfully able to participate in an auction -- it means that any auction winner in an urban area will secure an authorization that will be significantly impaired and may be unable to be practically used,” T-Mobile said.