II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1767 

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. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 26, 2005 

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 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 

4 The Congress finds the following: 

5 (1) The Federal Communications Commission 

6 adopted the band plans for the upper 700 mega7 Hertz band in 2000 and the lower 700 megaHertz 
2 

•S 1767 IS 

1 band in 2002, and there was much uncertainty at 

2 the time regarding the timing of broadcasters’ mi3 gration from the 700 megaHertz bands when these 

4 band plans were developed. 

5 (2) There has been increased consolidation in 

6 the wireless industry in recent years, as a result of 

7 completed and proposed mergers of several major 

8 nationwide and regional carriers, and there is a rec9 ognized need to enhance deployment of spectrum re10 sources in rural and underserved areas. 

11 (3) The Commission has recently reevaluated 

12 its band plan for the upcoming advanced wireless 

13 services auction at the 1.7 and 2.1 gigaHertz bands 

14 in light of these same factors. 

15 (4) All of the remaining 700 megaHertz com16 mercial licenses consist of very large geographic area 

17 licenses known as ‘‘Economic Area Groupings’’, with 

18 only 6 licenses available for each of the A, B, and 

19 E blocks in the lower 700 megaHertz band, and the 

20 C and D blocks in the upper 700 megaHertz band. 

21 (5) It is appropriate and important for the 

22 Commission to conduct a rulemaking proceeding to 

23 reevaluate the lower and upper 700 megaHertz band 

24 plans, and to include in that reevaluation a consider25 ation of— 
3 

•S 1767 IS 

1 (A) whether the current band plans will 

2 enable participation in any auction of these li3 censes by small and regional wireless carriers 

4 and new entrants (which may be unable to bid 

5 on such large geographic areas); and 

6 (B) whether the existing band plans will 

7 facilitate wireless deployment in rural and un8 derserved areas as well as enhance competition 

9 in markets of all sizes. 

10 SEC. 2. FCC PROCEEDING. 

11 The Federal Communications Commission shall ini12 tiate a proceeding no later than June 1, 2006, to reevalu13 ate and reconfigure its band plans for the upper 700 

14 megaHertz band (currently designated Auction 31) and 

15 for the un-auctioned portions of the lower 700 megaHertz 

16 band (currently designated as Blocks A, B, and E). In 

17 the proceeding, the Commission shall reconfigure the band 

18 plans to include spectrum to be licensed for small geo19 graphic areas, taking into consideration the competitive 

20 benefits, unique characteristics, and special needs of re21 gional and smaller wireless carriers. 

Æ