FCC Grants More COVID-19-Related Spectrum Usage

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The FCC has granted the Makah Tribe of Washington State temporary use of spectrum during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The FCC's Wireless Bureau has granted the Tribe temporary use of unassigend 2.5 GHz spectrum for wireless broadband service. The grant is for the next 60 days. 

“Providing additional wireless broadband capacity should help Tribal members stay connected during the pandemic," said FCC chair Ajit Pai. "As is the case in communities across our country, maintaining connections to work, health care, family, and educational resources is profoundly important for Tribal communities." 

It is the third such Special Temporary Authority the FCC has been asked to grant to Tribal Nations, all of which have "quickly reviewed and granted," said the FCC Friday (May 29). 

The temporary grants do not impact the licensed access to the unassigned 2.5 GHz spectrum the FCC is making available to rural tribes in a special application window that closes Aug. 3. 

John Eggerton
John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.