5/10 FCC Opposition to Petition for Stay of 5.9 GHz Order

New America's Open Technology Institute (OTI) and Public Knowledge (PK) filed an opposition to the petition for stay filed by the Amateur Radio Emergency Data Network (AREDN) which called for a stay for the Commission's 5.9 GHz Report and Order which opened up spectrum in the 5.9 GHz band for unlicensed sharing needed to strengthen Wi-Fi amid increasing capacity demand. OTI and PK urged the Commission to reject the Petition for Stay because AREDN failed to meet the standard for a stay due to lacking merits, the failure to demonstrate irreparable harm, and the vast public interest benefits that will arise as a result of the Commission's action to open up 5.9 GHz band spectrum for unlicensed sharing.

OTI detailed in a report that there is an urgent need for the Commission to open up 5.9 GHz band spectrum to add bandwidth and capacity to Wi-Fi as demand for unlicensed spectrum is increasing and is only going to increase further with the coming of mobile 5G services and next-generation Wi-Fi 6 services.

The following is the introduction to the opposition:

To require a stay of the Commission’s order, AREDN must show the following: (1) a strong likelihood of success on the merits; (2) that it will suffer irreparable harm if the FCC does not stay the Order; (3) that other parties will not suffer substantial injury as a consequence of issuance of a stay; and (4) that the public interest favors grant of a stay.3 Here, AREDN fails to make the required showing for three of the four factors. Accordingly, the FCC should deny the request for a stay.