Page 125 - SAMENA Trends - September 2019

REGULATORY & POLICY UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

REGULATORY NEWS

Saudi Technical Chief Presents Kingdom’s IT Advances at UN Gathering

The Kingdom’s expanding role in the ICT Saudi officials told the UN. With more than and Information Technology Commission
sector can help toward connecting half 93 percent of Saudis now with internet (CITC), headed by Dr. Abdul Aziz Al-
the world’s population to the internet, access, the country’s Communications Ruwais, participated in a meeting of the UN
Broadband Commission for Sustainable
Development, held in New York. Al-Ruwais
highlighted the importance of using
innovative methods to finance broadband
projects and best regulatory practices to
stimulate competition and investment
in the ICT sector. Al-Ruwais noted the
“qualitative leaps” achieved by the sector
in the Kingdom over the past two years,
including an increase of more than 300
percent in ICT spectrum services, the
launch of at least 2,000 sites supporting
5G technologies, and a 450 percent rise
in average mobile internet speeds. He
said the Kingdom now had more than 93
percent of its people with internet access,
placing the country among the top 20
nations in the world for internet use.

FCC Proposes CBRS Auction Rules: Over 22,000 Licenses by County, Possible

CMA Option

The FCC is considering rules for an auction uses on an unlicensed and shared basis. function the spectrum currently supports
of spectrum in the CBRS band that call CBRS spectrum is considered “mid-band” — distribution of video programming. The
for licenses by county. A total of seven – a band that has received considerable FCC is considering making a portion of the
licenses, each for 10 MHz of unpaired attention in recent months as carriers band available to commercial operators,
spectrum, would be available per county, have begun rolling out 5G networks. As but key issues about how that would
yielding a total of more than 22,000 FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr noted at occur have yet to be resolved, including
licenses nationwide. The commission also today’s FCC meeting, network operators whether the satellite providers would
asked for feedback on whether to offer are expected to use a combination of auction the spectrum or whether the FCC
bidders the option to bid at a cellular market low-band, mid-band and high-band would handle that task. Rosenworcel
area (CMA) level in the 172 CMAs that are spectrum to meet a variety of coverage noted that 16 other countries have recently
classified as metropolitan statistical areas. requirements. Some stakeholders, conducted auctions of mid-band spectrum
The 172 CMAs referenced comprise about including Commissioners Michael O’Rielly and argued that the CBRS band auction
one-quarter of all CMAs. The auction would and Jessica Rosenworcel, believe the U.S. should be conducted sooner than June
be known as Auction 105 and would begin needs to be more aggressive in making 25. She also expressed concern about
June 25, 2020. Participants would have the mid-band spectrum available for 5G. “The the possibility of CBRS spectrum being
option of bidding for up to four licenses great step forward we take today doesn’t auctioned on a CMA basis in certain areas,
in a license area. The action came in the eliminate the need for more mid-band arguing that this approach could shut out
form of a public notice adopted at today’s spectrum,” said O’Rielly. “Let’s get the smaller entities from acquiring licenses in
monthly FCC meeting. The CBRS band C-band done.” The latter is a reference those areas, which in turn, could minimize
includes mid-band spectrum between to spectrum currently in the hands of opportunities for innovation.
3550-3700 MHz. A portion of the band was satellite providers, who may have more
recently made available for commercial spectrum than they need for the chief

125 SEPTEMBER 2019