FCC issues Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding the 4.9 GHz Band


On October 1, 2021 the FCC released an Order on Reconsideration and Eighth Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding the 4.9 GHz band (WP Docket No 07-100).

The Order on Reconsideration portion of the notice announces the rescinding of their previous order granting the states the authority to make decisions about how to use the spectrum within their state, including the authority to lease the spectrum to commercial service providers.

This order also lifts the licensing freeze for incumbent licensees seeking to modify their existing licenses or license new permanent fixed sites pending the issuance of a Public Notice announcing the lifting of the freeze.

The Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FPRM) portion of the notice revisits the structure of the 4.9 GHz band, how it is used, coordinated, and licensed. It asks questions about protecting public safety use of the band as well as potential sharing of the band with non-public safety users, frequency sharing arrangements, and the potential use of 5G in the band.

The full document can be found here: https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-21-106A1.pdf or by searching for FCC 21-106.