The FCC has issued public notices announcing it has postponed two spectrum auctions and the comment deadlines in four proceedings in response to COVID-19. These are the auctions and deadlines that have been postponed:

Auctions

• Citizens Broadband Radio Service Auction – The entire process for the auction for spectrum in the 3550-3650 MHz band for the Citizens Broadband Radio Service has been postponed. The window to apply for the auction is now April 23 through May 7; previously it was scheduled to run from March 26 through April 9. The auction itself is now scheduled to begin July 23; it originally was scheduled to begin on June 25. This spectrum is “mid-band” spectrum that is particularly valuable for deployment of 5G services.
• FM Radio Auction: An auction of 130 FM Radio broadcast authorizations, scheduled to begin April 28, has been postponed indefinitely. The FCC has dismissed all of the applications that were filed for the auction and will refund all upfront payments made by qualified bidders. Once the FCC sets a new date, parties that wish to participate will have to file new applications. Given the other auctions already on the FCC’s calendar, it is likely this auction will not be rescheduled until 2021.

Other deadlines

• 5.859-2.925 GHz Rulemaking: The FCC has extended the deadline for reply comments on its proposed rules to repurpose the 5.850-5.925 GHz band, currently assigned for use for smart transportation, to split the band between smart transportation users and unlicensed wireless service. The new deadline is April 27; the original deadline was April 6.
• Remand of the Restoring Internet Freedom Rulemaking: The FCC has extended the deadlines for comments and reply comments on specific issues raised by the Court of Appeals in its decision on the Restoring Internet Freedomorder, which eliminated prior regulations on internet service providers. The decision extend the deadlines by 21 days, so comments are now due April 20 and reply comments are now due May 20.
• 2020 Report under the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010: The FCC has extended the deadline for comments on issues related to the biennial report to Congress on issues related to accessibility to telecommunications and advanced services, including internet services, for people with disabilities. The new deadline is April 15; the original deadline was March 30.
• Population Distribution Methodology for Alaska Plan: The FCC has extended the deadlines for comments and reply comments on a proposed population distribution model. Under the FCC’s Alaska Plan to extend mobile service to remote areas of the state, the model will be used to estimate the number of Alaskans who receive mobile service within census blocks in remote areas and to determine whether mobile service providers participating in the Alaska Plan have met their performance commitments through deployment in those census blocks. Comments and reply comments are now due April 7 and April 17, respectively; the original deadlines were due March 26 and April 10.

The FCC could make additional changes to these dates in the future, depending on the impact of COVID-19 on the ability of parties to participate in the auctions or the pending proceedings.