II 110th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 1622 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES June 14, 2007 Ms. Snowe introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To require the Federal Communications Commission to reevaluate the band plans for the upper 700 megaHertz band and the un-auctioned portions of the lower 700 megaHertz band and reconfigure them to include spectrum to be licensed for small geographic areas.

1.

Findings

Congress finds the following: (1)The Federal Communications Commission adopted the band plans for the upper 700 megaHertz band in 2000 and the lower 700 megaHertz band in 2002, and there was much uncertainty at the time regarding the timing of broadcasters’ migration from the 700 megaHertz bands when these band plans were developed. (2)There has been increased consolidation in the wireless industry in recent years, as a result of completed and proposed mergers of several major nationwide and regional carriers, and there is a recognized need to enhance deployment of spectrum resources in rural and underserved areas. (3)The Commission has recently reevaluated its band plan for the upcoming advanced wireless services auction at the 1.7 and 2.1 gigaHertz bands in light of these same factors. (4)All of the remaining 700 megaHertz commercial licenses consist of very large geographic area licenses known as Economic Area Groupings, with only 6 licenses available for each of the A, B, and E blocks in the lower 700 megaHertz band, and the C and D blocks in the upper 700 megaHertz band. (5)It is appropriate and important for the Commission to conduct a rulemaking proceeding to reevaluate the lower and upper 700 megaHertz band plans, and to include in that reevaluation a consideration of— (A)whether the current band plans will enable participation in any auction of these licenses by small and regional wireless carriers and new entrants (which may be unable to bid on such large geographic areas); and (B)whether the existing band plans will facilitate wireless deployment in rural and underserved areas as well as enhance competition in markets of all sizes.

2.

Fcc proceeding

The Federal Communications Commission shall initiate a proceeding not later than June 1, 2008, to reevaluate and reconfigure its band plans for the upper 700 megaHertz band (currently designated Auction 31) and for the un-auctioned portions of the lower 700 megaHertz band (currently designated as Blocks A, B, and E). In the proceeding, the Commission shall reconfigure the band plans to include spectrum to be licensed for small geographic areas, taking into consideration the competitive benefits, unique characteristics, and special needs of regional and smaller wireless carriers.