Dear USET/USET SPF Family,
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC, or Commission) has issued a Public Notice seeking comments from Tribal Nations on access to spectrum licenses and related data. This action is being conducted to assist the FCC in further understanding the long-standing connectivity challenges experienced by Tribal Nations. Since the 2019 2.5 GHz Rural Tribal Priority Window (Tribal Window) for eligible Tribal Nations to obtain spectrum licenses to deploy broadband and other next-generation wireless services on rural Tribal Lands, the Commission has granted 336 licenses covering the rural Tribal Lands of more than 350 Tribal Nations. The FCC is now seeking comments from Tribal Nations on how to identify other spectrum licenses held by Tribal entities in other wireless bands since its licensing application forms do not currently collect demographic or other identifying information from Tribal applicants.
Additionally, the FCC is seeking comment on the potential addition of legal entity categories or demographic questions to its wireless licensing forms to more readily identify Tribal applicants seeking to obtain, or are currently holding, spectrum licenses. The FCC is also seeking comment on whether the collection of this information should be mandatory or optional and the potential beneficial or detrimental impacts this data collection could have on Tribal applicants and the FCC’s licensing system. For example, would the addition of additional Tribal categories or Legal Entity Type questions as mandatory on licensing forms complicate or add burdensome requirements to Tribal applicants?
On April 17, 2023, USET SPF submitted comments to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) in response to a Request for Comments on the development of a National Spectrum Strategy. Our comments emphasized the importance of Tribal Nation access to spectrum over Tribal Lands because it is a finite resource that has not received the same protections promised by the federal government through its trust and treaty obligations to protect our natural resources. Our comments urged NTIA to develop a Tribal Nation Spectrum Strategy and to work with the FCC to increase Tribal Nation access to spectrum licenses, especially those that have been hoarded by the telecommunications industry and resulted in little to no benefits provided to Tribal Nations through improvements to communications services on Tribal Lands. USET SPF plans to submit comments to the FCC to ensure that this spectrum data collection proceeding does not infringe on Tribal sovereignty, especially data sovereignty, and that the Commission work with NTIA in furtherance of developing a Tribal Nation Spectrum Strategy.
For more information on the FCC’s proceeding requesting comments from Tribal Nations on access to spectrum licenses and related data, please view the Commission’s Public Notice. Comments can be submitted to the FCC’s Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS) under GN Docket No. 23-265 (enter 23-265 in the ECFS Proceeding box) and are due by Thursday, November 30, 2023. Questions regarding this proceeding should be directed to Susan Mort, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau at Susan.Mort@fcc.gov, or Bambi Kraus, Office of Native Affairs and Policy, at Bambi.Kraus@fcc.gov
For more information, please contact Brian Howard, USET SPF Senior Policy Analyst, at bhoward@usetinc.org.
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