The Federal Communications Commission has adopted a Report and Order setting flexible-use regulatory, licensing, and technical rules for 65 MHz of Advanced Wireless Services-3 (AWS-3) spectrum, which includes the 1695-1710 MHz, 1755-1780 MHz, and 2155-2180 MHz bands. The final Report and Order contains two more 5 MHz paired blocks than the item that originally was circulated to Commissioners earlier this month. The 1755-1780 and 2155-2180 bands will include a paired 5 MHz block that will be licensed by cellular market areas (CMAs), two paired 5 MHz blocks to be licensed by Economic Areas (EA), and a paired 10 MHz block to be licensed by EA. The plan for the 1695-1710 MHz band stayed the same, and includes one 5 MHz unpaired block and one 10 MHz unpaired block to be licensed by EAs. The Report and Order also imposes an interoperability requirement between the AWS-3 and AWS-1 bands. The AWS-3 auction is expected to take place as early as September 2014.
