Advanced Television

FCC

FCC allows 386 applicants for Rural Fund’s $16bn

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced that 386 applicants are qualified to bid in the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction.  Phase 1 of the auction opens October 29th. In a Public Notice, the Rural Broadband Auctions Task Force, Office of Economics and Analytics, and Wireline Competition Bureau identified the qualified applicants and […]

October 15, 2020By Chris Forrester

Deadline approaches for C-band installs

Earth station operators in the US as well as cable and IP head-ends which have equipment pointing towards SES Americom satellites must decide this by October 14th if they want to self-install the necessary equipment and realign dishes for the new C-band signals. The FCC has identified around 6000 registered/licensed C-band users in the US […]

October 12, 2020By Chris Forrester

Bezos warns on frequency interference

Jeff Bezos is planning to launch an eventual 3236 low-Earth orbiting satellites into space in order to provide a broadband-by-satellite service to consumers. Project Kuiper will compete directly with the Starlink scheme from Elon Musk as well as a few other would-be satellite operators such as OneWeb, Telesat and others. As yet there is no […]

October 12, 2020

FCC to free up more 5G mid-band spectrum

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has, as expected, proposed freeing up more mid-band spectrum for use by 5G operators in the US. Currently the frequencies (3.45-3.55 GHz) is primarily used by the US military and the US Department of Defense (DoD). The DoD used the spectrum for radar systems amongst other communications needs on fixed, […]

October 2, 2020By Chris Forrester

FCC’s O’Rielly stepping down

FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly has confirmed that he will step down from his role when his term is up, and has made clear that he is not seeking any support in staying in the job. His time is up either in January or should a replacement be appointed, whichever is the sooner. O’Rielly is a […]

October 2, 2020By Chris Forrester

FCC to open up more spectrum for 5G

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai has shared with his colleagues a draft proposal which would take steps toward making the 3.45-3.55 GHz band available for commercial use throughout the contiguous United States. This item will be on the agenda of the FCC’s September 30th Open Meeting and, if adopted, would position this 100 megahertz […]

September 9, 2020By Colin Mann

FCC announces mid-band auction winners

The US’s Federal Communications Commission has released the results of the recently-concluded auction of 70 megahertz of Priority Access Licenses (PALs) in the 3550-3650 MHz band for 5G. The auction made available the greatest number of spectrum licences ever in a single FCC auction. Auction 105 gross proceeds reached $4,585,663,345, with net proceeds totalling $4,543,232,339. […]

September 3, 2020

Skyboxe receives FCC certification

Skyboxe, the company that’s paving the way for 4G and 5G fixed wireless broadband, has announced that its smart edge computing platform, the Skyboxe Hub 4G, has received an equipment authorization from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The first-of-its kind Skyboxe solution is an all-in-one, applications-enabled platform that combines hardware, data connectivity, and entertainment and […]

September 2, 2020

FCC denies C-band objectors

The FCC has firmly turned down objections from a few satellite operators who were not included in its 5G reallocation of C-band satellite frequencies. The three, collectively known as the ‘Small satellite Operators’ and comprising ABS Global, Empresa Argentina de Soluciones Satelitales, Hispamar and Hispasat of Madrid, had filed their objections to the FCC’s auction […]

September 1, 2020

OneWeb wins FCC approval for extra 1280 satellites

The FCC has approved OneWeb’s request to deploy an additional 1,280 satellites to provide high-speed broadband services in the US. The approval increases the number of satellites OneWeb can operate in the US market from 720 to 2,000, offering the company “greater opportunities to deliver satellite-based broadband services to the public,” the agency said in […]

August 28, 2020By Chris Forrester