The Daily Ex Parte, Jul 10, 2025
Ligado wants an R&O to auction the 1675-1680 MHz band. NAB faces opposition on mandated 3.0 transition
Filers
Ligado Networks LLC
Americans for Tax Reform, Digital Liberty, Innovation Economy Alliance, Center for Individual Freedom, Citizens Against Government Waste, Rio Grande Foundation, Citizen Outreach, Taxpayer Protection Alliance, Pelican Institute, Consumer Action for a Strong Economy, James Madison Institute, Mackinac Center for Public Policy, Institute for Policy Innovation, Jersey 1st, Jeffrey Westling, Luke Hogg
Ligado Networks LLC
Proceeding(s): 19-116
Date of Meeting: July 10, 2025 (Written Ex Parte Presentation)
Date Disseminated: July 10, 2025
Participants: This was a written submission from Ligado Networks LLC ("Ligado"), represented by Gerard J. Waldron and John D. Bowers of Covington & Burling LLP. The letter was sent to FCC staff members Arpan Sura, Anthony Patrone, Roger Noel, Lloyd Coward, Kari Hicks, Michael Ha, Nicholas Oros, and Serey Thai.
Summary of Discussion: In a written submission, Ligado urged the FCC to promptly finalize a Report and Order to auction the 1675-1680 MHz band. Ligado argues that the recent reinstatement of the FCC's spectrum auction authority by Congress through the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" (BBB) provides a clear path forward. The letter states that the 1675-1680 MHz band is designated as a "covered band" for reallocation under the BBB and is not subject to any exceptions, giving the FCC full authority to proceed with an auction.
Ligado asserts that the band is ready for immediate commercial deployment based on years of study, beginning with the FCC's 2019 NPRM. The key supporting evidence cited is the November 2024 "Spectrum Pipeline Reallocation Engineering Study Follow-On (SPRES-FO) Final Report" from NOAA, which the NTIA filed. Ligado highlights that the SPRES-FO Report affirmed that shared federal and commercial use is feasible for both uplink and downlink operations in the band, subject to reasonable coordination requirements. The report also noted that internet distribution is a viable alternative for disseminating weather data.
Ligado references the WTB's January 2025 Public Notice, which sought to refresh the record. Ligado characterizes the resulting comments as showing support for reallocation from parties such as Select Spectrum LLC and EchoStar Corporation, which cited benefits for critical infrastructure, competition, and the economy. Ligado dismisses the concerns of opposing parties, claiming they failed to address the findings of the comprehensive SPRES-FO Report.
To facilitate the auction, Ligado proposed the following service rules for the 1675-1680 MHz band:
Alignment and Channelization: Adopt rules that align with the adjacent 1670-1675 MHz band and permit combining the two bands for a more efficient 10-megahertz channel.
License Area: Grant a single, nationwide license to avoid band fragmentation and simplify coordination.
Flexible Use: Permit the band to be used for uplink, downlink, or time division duplex (TDD) applications.
Protection of Adjacent Band: Adopt rules to protect existing uses in the 1670-1675 MHz band if it cannot be used in conjunction with the 1675-1680 MHz band.
Public Interest Requirement: If deemed necessary, require the licensee to support a terrestrial cloud-based content delivery network to ensure public access to NOAA data.
Ligado concludes that by adopting these rules and moving to auction, the FCC can make valuable lower mid-band spectrum available for commercial use, fulfilling the objectives of the BBB.
Source: [NOTICE OF EXPARTE, Ligado Networks LLC, https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/107100668826960/1]
Americans for Tax Reform, Digital Liberty, Innovation Economy Alliance, Center for Individual Freedom, Citizens Against Government Waste, Rio Grande Foundation, Citizen Outreach, Taxpayer Protection Alliance, Pelican Institute, Consumer Action for a Strong Economy, James Madison Institute, Mackinac Center for Public Policy, Institute for Policy Innovation, Jersey 1st, Jeffrey Westling, Luke Hogg
Proceeding(s): 16-142
Date of Meeting: July 10, 2023 (Written Ex Parte Communication)
Date Disseminated: July 10, 2023
Participants: A coalition of organizations and individuals submitted a letter addressed to an unspecified FCC Commissioner. The signatories included:
Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform
Bartlett Cleland of Innovation Economy Alliance
James Erwin of Digital Liberty
Jeff Mazzella of the Center for Individual Freedom
Deborah Collier of Citizens Against Government Waste
Paul Gessing of the Rio Grande Foundation
Chuck Muth of Citizen Outreach
David Williams of the Taxpayer Protection Alliance
Daniel Erspamer of the Pelican Institute
Matthew Kandrach of Consumer Action for a Strong Economy
Jarrett Skorup of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy
Edward Longe of The James Madison Institute
Tom Giovanetti of the Institute for Policy Innovation
Rosemary Becchi of Jersey 1st
Jeff Westling (Individual Signer)
Luke Hogg (Individual Signer)
Summary of Discussion: In a written ex parte communication, a coalition of 14 conservative and free-market organizations, along with two individual signatories, urged the FCC to reject a petition from the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB). The NAB's petition seeks to mandate the adoption of the Next Generation Television (Next Gen TV) standard, which uses Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) 3.0 technology.
The coalition's central argument is that the FCC's current "voluntary, market-driven" approach to ATSC 3.0 adoption, established in a 2017 Report and Order, has been highly successful and should be maintained. They contend that a mandate is unnecessary, pointing out that Next Gen TV is already available to over 75% of Americans in more than 80 markets, where it operates in parallel with the older ATSC 1.0 standard. The group considers this widespread adoption a clear success that invalidates the NAB's claim of a problem requiring regulatory intervention.
The signatories characterize the NAB's request as an anti-competitive effort to "use the government to limit genuine competition." They argue that the NAB is attempting to force its competitors, such as cable and satellite multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs), to adopt its preferred standard, rather than competing in the marketplace. The coalition views the petition as the NAB asking the FCC to do its work for it by forcing adoption in the remaining, harder-to-penetrate markets.
Instead of imposing new mandates on other industries, the letter suggests the FCC should address the "onerous regulation" and "steep regulatory burden" that broadcasters have faced since the mid-20th century. The coalition believes that deregulation, not new mandates, would allow broadcasters to innovate and compete effectively in the 21st-century media landscape.
In conclusion, the group recommends that the FCC adhere to its 2017 roadmap, which has successfully empowered consumer choice and allowed broadcasters to voluntarily consolidate and capitalize on the new technology. They urged the Commission to reject the NAB's petition and continue supporting market-driven approaches to technological innovation.
Source: NOTICE OF EXPARTE, Americans for Tax Reform, Digital Liberty, Innovation Economy Alliance, Center for Individual Freedom, Citizens Against Government Waste, Rio Grande Foundation, Citizen Outreach, Taxpayer Protection Alliance, Pelican Institute, Consumer Action for a Strong Economy, James Madison Institute, Mackinac Center for Public Policy, Institute for Policy Innovation, Jersey 1st, Jeffrey Westling, Luke Hogg, https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/10710208465819/1