The time may have arrived for 12GHz

LOS ANGELES – MWC LA – The Biden administration finally named leadership to the FCC last week. The White House nominated Gigi Sohn as a new FCC commissioner and Jessica Rosenworcel as the agency's first female Chair (in a permanent capacity; Rosenworcel currently holds the role as Acting Chairwoman).

Now all eyes are on the FCC to see what the Commission might do next (so long as the appointments of Sohn and Rosenworcel are approved).

As that all starts to get put into place, V. Noah Campbell believes the agency might finally take up the 12GHz issue. Campbell is a wireless industry entrepreneur and founder of RS Access, which owns some 12GHz spectrum assets. Dish Network also owns significant 12GHz holdings. The two companies have been petitioning the FCC to allow 5G operations in the band, but companies including SpaceX's Starlink are fighting back against that idea.

"We've got a full team now," Campbell said of the FCC. "Let's sit down and take a look at this."

But what might the FCC's new leadership do with the 12GHz issue? Would they implement some kind of sharing regime? Or perhaps exclusive licenses?

"That's all on the table," Campbell said on the sidelines of the recent MWC LA show.

— Mike Dano, Editorial Director, 5G & Mobile Strategies, Light Reading | @mikeddano