February 24, 2021 FACT SHEET* Facilitating Shared Use in the 3.1-3.55 GHz Band Second Report and Order, Order on Reconsideration, and Order of Proposed Modification, WT Docket No. 19-348 Background The Beat China by Harnessing Important, National Airwaves for 5G Act of 2020, which was included in the Fiscal Year 2021 omnibus spending bill, requires the Commission to work with its Federal partners to bring all of the 3.45 GHz band spectrum to market for next-generation wireless use through a system of competitive bidding by December 31, 2021. Beginning the implementation of this Congressional mandate, this item reallocates 100 megahertz in the 3.45 GHz band for flexible use wireless services and adopt rules to implement the new 3.45 GHz Service, The framework adopted for the 3.45 GHz band will enable full-power commercial use and provide flexibility to future licensees in deploying their networks in this band, while also ensuring that federal incumbents are still protected where and when they require continued access to the band. What the Second Report and Order Would Do: • Make 100 megahertz of spectrum in the 3.45 GHz band available for flexible use wireless services throughout the contiguous United States; • Add a co-primary, non-federal fixed and mobile (except aeronautical mobile) allocation to the band; • Create a regime to coordinate non-federal and federal use of spectrum by adopting Cooperative Planning Areas and Periodic Use Areas and establishing coordination procedures; • Adopt a band plan and technical, licensing, and competitive bidding rules for the 3.45 GHz band, including performance requirements benchmarks intended to promote rapid deployment; • Require non-federal radiolocation operators to sunset operations within 180 days after the grant of new flexible-use licenses and provide for reimbursement of reasonable relocation costs; and • Require amateur operators to cease operations in the 3.45 GHz band within 90 days of the public notice announcing the close of the auction, while allowing those operations to continue in the 3.3- 3.45 GHz portion of the band pending future Commission action in that spectrum. What the Order on Reconsideration Would Do: • Dismiss ARRL’s petition for reconsideration of the decision to sunset the amateur allocation in the 3.3-3.55 GHz band on procedural and substantive grounds. What the Order of Proposed Modification Would Do: • Propose to modify the licenses of secondary, non-federal radiolocation operations operating in the 3.3-3.55 GHz band to reflect the new frequency assignment in the 2.9-3.0 GHz band. * This document is being released as part of a “permit-but-disclose” proceeding. Any presentations or views on the subject expressed to the Commission or its staff, including by email, must be filed in WT Docket No. 19-348, which may be accessed via the Electronic Comment Filing System (https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/). Before filing, participants should familiarize themselves with the Commission’s ex parte rules, including the general prohibition on presentations (written and oral) on matters listed on the Sunshine Agenda, which is typically released a week prior to the Commission’s meeting. See 47 CFR § 1.1200 et seq. Federal Communications Commission FCC-CIRC2103-03 Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, D.C. 20554 In the Matter of ) ) Facilitating Shared Use in the 3100-3550 MHz ) WT Docket No. 19-348 Band ) SECOND REPORT AND ORDER, ORDER ON RECONSIDERATION, AND ORDER OF PROPOSED MODIFICATION* Adopted: [] Released: [] By the Commission TABLE OF CONTENTS Heading Paragraph # I. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................. 1 II. BACKGROUND .................................................................................................................................... 2 III. SECOND REPORT AND ORDER...................................................................................................... 15 A. Allocating the 3.45 GHz Band for Commercial Wireless Use ...................................................... 17 B. Cooperative Sharing Regime in the 3.45 GHz Band ..................................................................... 20 1. Cooperative Planning Areas and Periodic Uses Areas. ........................................................... 23 2. National Emergencies .............................................................................................................. 35 3. Coordination Procedures. ........................................................................................................ 39 C. 3.45 GHz Band Plan ...................................................................................................................... 58 1. Block Sizes. ............................................................................................................................. 59 3. Spectrum Block Configuration. ............................................................................................... 61 D. Technical Issues ............................................................................................................................. 68 1. Power Levels ........................................................................................................................... 69 2. Out-of-Band Emissions ........................................................................................................... 78 3. Measures to Minimize Effects on Adjacent Channel Operations ............................................ 87 4. Other Technical Rules ............................................................................................................. 92 E. Licensing and Operating Rules; Regulatory Issues ....................................................................... 97 1. Eligibility..................................................................................................................................98 2. Mobile Spectrum Holding Policies...........................................................................................99 3. Geographic Licensing.............................................................................................................107 4. License Term and Renewal.....................................................................................................113 5. Performance Requirements.....................................................................................................117 * This document has been circulated for tentative consideration by the Commission at its March 2021 open meeting. The issues referenced in this document and the Commission’s ultimate resolution of those issues remain under consideration and subject to change. This document does not constitute any official action by the Commission. However, the Acting Chairwoman has determined that, in the interest of promoting the public’s ability to understand the nature and scope of issues under consideration, the public interest would be served by making this document publicly available. The FCC’s ex parte rules apply and presentations are subject to “permit-but-disclose” ex parte rules. See, e.g., 47 C.F.R. §§ 1.1206, 1.1200(a). Participants in this proceeding should familiarize themselves with the Commission’s ex parte rules, including the general prohibition on presentations (written and oral) on matters listed on the Sunshine Agenda, which is typically released a week prior to the Commission’s meeting. See 47 CFR §§ 1.1200(a), 1.1203. Federal Communications Commission FCC-CIRC2103-03 6. Licensed-By-Rule Use............................................................................................................129 7. Applicability of Other Party 27 Rules....................................................................................133 F. Competitive Bidding Rules .......................................................................................................... 134 G. Relocation of Secondary Non-Federal Radiolocation Operations ............................................... 145 1. Timing of Relocation ............................................................................................................. 146 2. Relocation Reimbursement ................................................................................................... 150 3. Cost Allocation Structure ...................................................................................................... 156 4. Section 316 License Modification ......................................................................................... 162 H. Continued Operation of Amateur Stations in Part of the 3.3-3.45 GHz Band ............................. 163 IV. ORDER ON RECONSIDERATION ................................................................................................. 169 V. PROCEDURAL MATTERS .............................................................................................................. 179 VI. ORDERING CLAUSES ..................................................................................................................... 186 Appendix A—Final Rules Appendix B—Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Appendix C—List of Commenters I. INTRODUCTION 1. Today, the Commission takes steps to advance Congressional and Commission objectives to make more mid-band spectrum available for fifth generation wireless services, or 5G. Specifically, we begin implementation of the Beat China by Harnessing