Advanced Television

Spectrum

CBA sets C-band auction principles

The FCC has yet to make its mind up on whether to grant the C-Band Alliance its permission to auction of 300 MHz of satellite spectrum over the US. But the CBA is very much ready to proceed with its plans. On October 29th the CBA, in a filing to the FCC, said it had […]

October 30, 2019By Chris Forrester

CBA: “Satellite industry lacking unity”

The US Congress Energy & Commerce Committee held a formal hearing into the C-Band Alliance’s plan for spectrum reallocation over the US on October 29th. The meeting did not go well for the Alliance. The Committee already has a Bill (the C-Band Act) before Congress and the Bill is co-sponsored by Democrats and Republicans, and […]

October 30, 2019

C-Band Alliance: Now it’s 300 MHz

The C-Band Alliance (CBA) has moved decisively towards the FCC preferred release of 300 MHz of spectrum over the US. The CBA had previously insisted that it could only manage to clear 200 MHz (180 MHz + a 20 MHz ‘guard band’). The spectrum is being cleared to help the deployment of 5G cellular technology […]

October 29, 2019By Chris Forrester

Ofcom boost for 5G roll-out

UK comms regulator Ofcom has updated proposals to release crucial airwaves to meet growing demand for mobile broadband and support the rollout of 5G. To help improve mobile services and enable more people and businesses to access 5G networks, Ofcom is planning to release more mobile airwaves through an auction in spring 2020. Improving mobile […]

October 28, 2019By Colin Mann

FCC: ‘C-band decision very soon’

The FCC is still on track for a decision on C-band spectrum this autumn, FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly said at Mobile World Congress Americas in Los Angeles on October 23rd. He spoke of various initiatives to free up extra spectrum for cellular use, including C-band, and stressed that the FCC has its eyes on 300 […]

October 25, 2019By Chris Forrester

£1bn boost for UK mobile coverage

Poor mobile phone coverage is set to be a thing of the past as the UK Government champions a £1 billion (€1.16bn) deal with the mobile phone industry to banish rural ‘not-spots’, with the plans for all operators to share phone masts to improve UK coverage being described as a “world first”. The move will […]

October 25, 2019By Colin Mann

Eutelsat enthusiastic over C-band 300 MHz plan

Eutelsat, in a formal filing to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), says that it is in favour of the C-Band Alliance – eventually – freeing up 300 MHz of spectrum over the US for 5G’s usage. Julie Burguburu, Eutelsat’s group general counsel, and Wladimir Bocquet, director of regulatory affairs, spectrum management and policy at Eutelsat, […]

October 23, 2019

CBA: “FCC auction could take 13 years”

The C-Band Alliance (CBA) used a letter to Senator John Kennedy, the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and to Christopher Coons, a ranking member of the same committee. The letter was ostensibly to correct some misstatements made by two influential organisations. One “misrepresentation” came from David Williams of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance who in […]

October 21, 2019

Senator urges FCC to hold C-band auction

Sami Kassab, a satellite analyst at investment bank Exane/BNPP, issued useful summary of the October 17th US Senate hearing on matters concerning the Federal Communications Commission and in particular the FCC’s thinking on the C-Band Alliance’s (CBA) plan for C-band over the US. Evidently, Senator John Kennedy used robust language in pushing his view that […]

October 18, 2019

C-Band Alliance wins major new support

An influential US lobbying group, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) has completely reversed its previous objections to the C-Band Alliance’s proposed scheme to free up at least 200 MHz of satellite spectrum over the US. The ATR has informed the US Senate Subcomittee on Appropriations that it now supports a private auction run – and […]

October 17, 2019By Chris Forrester