Miscellaneous
Want some real news from a few key D.C. policy insiders on the fate of the C-Band spectrum? Then search no further than this edition of DC2U, ACA Connects’ podcast and videocast hosted by ACA Connects President and CEO Matthew M. Polka. To get a good idea of the underlying issues and policy alternatives related to clearing the C-Band, Polka turned to three policy experts: ACA Connects Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Ross Lieberman, Charter Communications Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Colleen King, and Competitive Carriers Association (CCA) Senior Vice President & General Counsel Alexi Maltas.ACA Connects, Charter, and CCA combined to craft a proposal that needs Federal Communications Commission approval called the “5G Plus Plan.” The plan will free up a large swath of C-Band airwaves via an FCC auction for use by mobile communications providers planning to deploy 5G technology. The 5G Plus Plan will also generate billions in revenue for the U.S. Treasury; some of the auction revenue will fund an extensive fiber network especially needed by smaller multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) that will no longer be able to rely on C-Band airwaves to receive satellite-delivered programming after the conclusion of the FCC’s C-Band auction. Complex and controversial with many parties at the table, the C-Band spectrum debate will be one of the most important issues the FCC will attempt to resolve this year. To get a sense of where the FCC is headed – a vote is expected this November – this new DC2U podcast is a good place to start. The podcast was recorded on Sept. 4 in Washington D.C.