Emergency Justification Letter

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Washington, DC 20554

March 20, 2020
Mr. Alexander Hunt
Chief, Information Policy Branch
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
Office of Management and Budget
725 y7uhl Street, N.W.
Washington, D. C. 20503
Dear Mr. Hunt:
The Federal Communications Commission (Commission) requests Office of Management and Budget
(0MB) approval to submit the information collection described herein under the “emergency processing”
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (5 CFR 1320.13). The Commission is
requesting clearance for new, one-time information collections entitled: 3060-XXXX, 3.7 GI-Iz Band
Space Station Operator Accelerated Relocation Elections and Transition Plans; 3.7 GHz Band Earth
Station Lump Sum Payment Elections. We respectfully request 0MB approval for this new information
collection no later than 35 days after it is received at 0MB.
On February 28, 2020, in furtherance of the goal of releasing more mid-band spectrum into the market to
support and enable next-generation wireless networks, the Commission adopted a Report and Order, FCC
20-22, (3.7 GHz Report and Order) in which it reformed the use of the 3.7-4.2 0Hz band, also known as
the C-Band.1 The 3.7 GHz Report and Order calls for the relocation of existing Fixed Satellite Service
(FSS) operations in the 3.7-4.2 GHz band into the upper 200 megahertz of the band (4.0-4.2 GHz) and
making the lower 280 megahertz (3.7-3.98 GHz) available for flexible-use throughout the contiguous
United States through a Commission-administered pub]ic auction of overlay licenses that is scheduled to
occur later this year.2 The Commission adopted a robust transition schedule to achieve an expeditious
relocation of FSS operations and ensure that a significant amount of spectrum is made available quickly
for next-generation wireless deployments, while also ensuring effective accommodation of relocated
incumbent users. The 3.7 GHz Report and Order establishes a deadline of December 5, 2025, for full
relocation to ensure that all FSS operations are cleared in a timely manner, but provides an opportunity
for accelerated clearing of the band by allowing incumbent space station operators3 to commit to
voluntarily relocate on a two-phased accelerated schedule (with additional obligations and incentives for
such operators), with a Phase I deadline of December 5, 2021, and a Phase II deadline of December 5,
2023.

See Expanding Flexible Use oft/ic 3.7 to 4.2 GHz Band, Report and Order and Order of Proposed Modification,
FCC 20-22 (rel. Mar. 2, 2020) (3.7 GHz Report and Order). See also MOBILE NOW Act, Pub. L. No. 115-141,
Division P, Title VI, § 601 et seq. (2018) (requiring the Commission to evaluate “the feasibility of allowing
commercial wireless services, licensed or unlicensed, to use or share use of the frequencies between 3700 megahertz
and 4200 megahertz”).
2

The 20 megahertz from 3.98-4.0 0Hz is being reserved as a guard band.

The 3.7 GHz Report and Order defines “incumbent space station operators” to include all C-band space station
operators authorized to provide service to any part of the contiguous United States pursuant to an FCC-issued
license or grant of market access as of June 21, 2018.

The Commission concluded in the 3.7 GHz Report and Order that, before the public auction of overlay
licenses commences, it is appropriate for potential bidders to know when they will get access to the
spectrum in the 3.7-3.98 GHz band that is currently occupied by incumbent FSS space station operators
and earth stations,4 and to have an estimate of how much they may be required to pay for incumbent
relocation costs and accelerated relocation payments should they become overlay licensees.5 To facilitate
providing this information to potential auction bidders, the Commission is seeking approval for a new
information collection to permit it to collect the following information from incumbents as adopted in the
3.7 GHz Report cmct Order:
(1) Accelerated Relocation Elections. Because commitments to early clearing will be crucial
components of potential bidders’ decisions to compete for a particular license at auction, the
Commission is requiring eligible space station operators6 to commit to early clearing well in
advance of the auction to allow the Commission to determine whether there are sufficient
accelerated relocation elections to trigger early relocation and, in turn, provide bidders with
adequate certainty regarding the clearing date and payment obligations associated with each
license. An eligible space station operator choosing to commit to clear on the accelerated
schedule in exchange for accelerated relocation payments must submit a written, public,
irrevocable accelerated relocation election to the Commission no later than May 29, 2020.
(2) Transition Plans. Each eligible space station operator must by June 12, 2020, and make available
for public review, a detailed transition plan that describes the necessary steps and estimated costs
for the eligible space station operator to complete the transition of existing operations in the
lower portion of the 3.7-4.2 GHz band to the upper 200 megahertz of the band and its individual
timetine for doing so consistent with the regular relocation deadline or by the accelerated
relocation deadlines, as applicable.7
(3) Incttmbent Earth Station Lttmp Sum Payment Elections. An incumbent earth station operator has
the option of either accepting reimbursement payments for its reasonable relocation costs for the
The 3.7 GHz Rejort and Order defines “incumbent earth stations” to be protected from interference from flexibleuse licenees to include FSS earth stations that: (1) were operational as of April 19, 2018; (2) are licensed or
registered (or had a pending application for license or registration) in the Commission’s International Bureau Filing
System (IBFS) database as of November 7, 2018; and (3) have timely certified, to the extent required by the Order
adopted in FCC 18-9 1 (to include certain renewal applications and license and registration applications filed in the
IBFS database through November 7, 2018), the accuracy of information on file with the Commission.
‘

Overlay licensees are required to pay for the reasonable relocation costs of incumbent space station and incumbent
earth station operators that are required to clear the lower portion of the band.
An “eligible space station operator” is as an incumbent space station operator that has demonstrated as of February
1, 2020, that it has an existing relationship to provide service via C-band satellite transmission to one or more
incumbent earth stations in the contiguous United States. An eligible space station operator may receive
reimbursement for relocation costs incurred as a result of transitioning to the upper portion of the 3.7-4.2 GHz band.
An eligible space station operator that commits to clear on the accelerated schedule in exchangc for an accelerated
relocation payment is committing to not only relocate its own services by the applicable accelerated relocation
deadlines but also to take responsibility for relocating its associated incumbent earth stations by those same
deadlines.
An eligible space station operator that elects to receive accelerated relocation payments is responsible for
relocating all of its associated incumbent earth stations and must outline the details of such relocation in the
transition plan (unless an incumbent earth station owner elects to receive a lump sum payment and assumes
responsibility for transitioning its own earth stations). Similarly, an incumbent space station operator that does not
elect to receive accelerated relocation payments but nevertheless plans to assume responsibility for relocating its
own associated incumbent earth stations must make that clear in its transition plan.

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transition, or opting out of the formal relocation process and accepting a lump sum
reimbursement payment for all of its incumbent earth stations based on the average, estimated
costs of relocating all of their incumbent earth stations in lieu of actual relocation costs. An
incumbent earth station operator that wish to opt out of the formal relocation process and accept a
lump sum reimbursement payment for all of its incumbent earth stations in the contiguous United
States in lieu of actual relocation costs must file and incumbent earth station lump sum payment
election no later than 30 days after announcement of the lump sum that will be available per
incumbent earth station.
The information reported under this new information collection is necessary to implement the framework
adopted by the Commission for reforming the 3.7-4.2 GHz band, and will serve as the starting point for
planning and managing the process and timeline for efficiently and expeditiously clearing existing
operations in the lower portion of the 3.7-4.2 GHz band, so that this spectrum can be auctioned for
flexible-use service licenses. The information collected will be used by the Commission to determine
when, how, and at what cost existing operations in the lower portion of the band will be relocated to the
upper portion of the band.
The Commission expects bidding for overlay licenses in the lower portion of the band to commence on
December 8, 2020.8 The aggressive schedule for collecting the above-described information is necessary
to ensure the Commission will be able to obtain, process, and provide information to potential auction
bidders regarding when they will get access to the spectrum being vacated by incumbent space station and
earth station operators and how much they may be required to pay for incumbent relocation costs and
accelerated relocation payments should they become overlay licensees sufficiently in advance of the time
they must decide whether to apply to participate in the auction, and ensure that the auction can commence
as scheduled. Because the dates by which respondents must submit their responses to this information
collection are fewer than four months away, the Commission is requesting emergency processing and
approval of this new information collection.
Requiring the Commission to seek OMB’s approval for this new collection under the regular PRA
processing procedures would significantly delay implementation of the framework for reforming the 3.74.2 GHz band adopted by the Commission. If the Commission were to wait 120 days to formally notify
the public and potential interested parties of its intent to collect the above-described information under
this collection, the Commission’s ability to obtain, process, and provide the necessary information to
potential auction bidders sufficiently in advance of the time they must decide to apply to participate in the
auction would be substantially delayed, which could in turn delay commencing the auction as scheduled,
resulting in a corresponding delay in issuing overlay licenses to auction winning bidders and, ultimately,
making next-generation wireless services available to the American public using this mid-band spectrum.
Due to the emergency nature of this request, the Commission is requesting a waiver of the requirement to
publish a 60-day notice in the Federal Register. The Commission will publish a 30-day notice in the
Federal Register concerning this new information collection under the emergency processing procedures
to give the public an opportunity to comment on this emergency submission. The Commission will
conduct all the necessary regular submission requirements tinder the PRA after approval of this
emergency request.
The Commission’s staff is ready to work with your PRA Desk Officer to immediately provide any
additional information needed to facilitate OMB’s approval of this emergency request for these new
8

See Auction for Flexible- Use Service Licenses in the 3.7-3.98 GHz Band for Next-Generation Wireless Services;
Comment Sought on Competitive Bidding Procedures forAuction 107, Public Notice, FCC 20-23, at 2, para. 1 (rel.

Mar. 3, 2020).

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information collections no later than 35 days after it is received at 0MB. Please have your PRA Desk
Officer contact Cathy Williams at (202) 418-2918 [email protected], if there are any questions
or requires any additional information.

Sincerely,

I_lJ/y
Mark Stephens
Managing Director
Office of Managing Director
Federal Communications Commission

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