For Immediate Release
Contact: Ted Hearn
(202) 713-0826
[email protected]
PITTSBURGH, Oct. 28, 2019 – ACA Connects President and CEO Matthew M. Polka issued the following statement on the C-Band Alliance’s (CBA) new and flawed plan to clear 300 MHz of C-band spectrum to support 5G:
“At the eleventh hour and fifty-ninth minute, CBA has finally come forward with the rough outlines of a proposal to clear 300 megahertz of the C-Band. Its three-page submission affirms that CBA would rely on the use of video compression to cram all satellite operations into a mere 200 megahertz.
“This would saddle rural operators and their customers with higher prices to use a less reliable C-band that is more prone to interference and is unable to meet future demand for high-definition video. The transition alone would be grueling and would take longer than three years for rural cable operators, who would need to replace hundreds of boxes in their headends to receive signals in compressed format.
“At any rate, the skeletal outline that CBA has provided is far from a sufficient basis for FCC action to reallocate a multi-billion dollar spectrum asset. Nor does the filing remedy core defects of the CBA plan, including the proposed reliance on an untested, legally unsound private sale of licensed spectrum. At any rate, the proposal comes far too late to be incorporated into FCC’s rules adopted by the end of the year.”
About ACA Connects: America’s Communications Association – Based in Pittsburgh, ACA Connects is a trade organization representing more than 700 smaller and medium-sized, independent companies that provide broadband, phone and video services to nearly 8 million customers primarily located in rural and smaller suburban markets across America. Through active participation in the regulatory and legislative process in Washington, D.C., ACA Connects’ members work together to advance the interests of their customers and ensure the future competitiveness and viability of their business. For more information, visit: https://acaconnects.org