Performance Requirements for Commercial Spectrum

New, more stringent performance requirements were adopted for commercial licenses that have not yet been auctioned in order to promote better access to spectrum and the provision of service, especially in rural areas.

For licenses based on CMAs and EAs, licensees are required to provide service sufficient to cover at least 35 percent of the geographic area of their license within four years, and 70 percent of this area by the end of the license term.

For licenses based on REAGs, licensees must provide service sufficient to cover at least 40 percent of the population of their license area within four years, and 75 percent of the population of the license area by the end of the license term.

If licensees fail to meet the four-year, interim geographic or population benchmark, the license term will be reduced from ten to eight years, thus requiring these licensees to meet the end-of-term benchmark at an accelerated schedule. Interim reporting requirements have also been adopted to ensure that build out is timely.

If licensees fail to meet the end-of-term buildout requirements, the FCC will automatically reclaim the unserved portions of the license area and make them
available to other potential users.