A former commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said an FCC filing made last week by the Association of American Railroads (AAR) over an FCC-mandated communications modernization initiative "seems like empty complaining."

That AAR filing cited Federal Newswire reporting about the rail industry's compliance with the initiative.  

“AAR’s latest filing seems like empty complaining and I doubt it gets a second look at the FCC because it lacks any real value," Michael O'Reilly, who was an FCC Commissioner from Nov. 2013 to Dec. 2020, told Federal Newswire. "Where are the timelines, progression steps, investment numbers, or commitments from companies?"

"Specifically what technology are they going to use? The July footnote filing reference doesn’t resolve anything," said O'Reilly. "AAR is asking for the agency to trust it based on little to nothing. That hasn’t worked in past and explains why the Agency imposed deadlines on relocation and initiation of new service.”

O’Reilly currently is president of MPOReilly Consulting, Inc. and is a visiting fellow at the Hudson Institute, focusing on technology and communications policy issues. During his tenure as FCC Commissioner, O'Reilly concentrated on a wide range of issues, including spectrum allocation, wireless technology, and efforts to modernize regulatory frameworks to support technological advancements.

His comments were in response to a Federal Newswire article about the AAR filing, which also said the rail industry is on schedule to meet  a September deadline to comply with the FCC-mandated initiative.

“On May 13, 2020, the Federal Communications Commission (“Commission”) adopted an order requiring the railroads to vacate six paired 12.5 kilohertz-wide channels in the 900 MHz band (896-901/935-940 MHz) that, since 2001, the Association of American Railroads (“AAR”) has licensed via its single nationwide ribbon license,” said Michael J. Rush, AAR’s senior vice president of safety and operations, in a Feb. 5 letter filed with the FCC. “In exchange for vacating these channels – which the railroads have used since 1982 – the railroads agreed to pay their own substantial relocation costs to move to 250 kilohertz of narrowband spectrum by September 14, 2025.”

“I am writing on behalf of AAR to address recent articles featuring anonymous statements that question whether the railroads will meet the September deadline to vacate the existing channels and use the new spectrum,” Rush wrote. “These statements lack any substantive facts and represent unwarranted speculation.”

Rush wrote that the railroads “remain on schedule” to meet the transition deadline. 

His letter cites a Nov. 2024 Federal Newswire article, “Rail industry’s sluggish transition to new broadband frequency raising concerns,” and a Dec. 2024 Federal Newswire article, “Class 1 rail $110M communications modernization initiative could transform rail safety, operations in 2025.”

In November 2024, AAR did not respond to Federal Newswire requests for comment on the railroads' progress on complying with the FCC-mandated transition.

This reporting also follows an Aug. 2024 article in which FCC spokesman Will Wiquist declined to comment on  whether the FCC would hold North American railroad systems accountable for the Sept. 2025 transition deadline.

Last month, former FCC Commission Michael O’Reilly went on record with Federal Newswire, saying it’s hard to give “much credibility” to comments by the rail industry that it's on schedule to meet the transition deadline.

O'Reilly's statement was in response to comments made about the communications initiative by Ian Jefferies, AAR's president and CEO, during a Jan. 23 hearing of the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials.

“Having worked on this issue closely in the past, it’s hard to hear AAR’s comments and give them much credibility,"  O'Reilly, who was an FCC Commissioner from Nov. 2013 to Dec. 2020, told Federal Newswire. "The rail industry appears woefully behind schedule and unwilling to make the leap to new technology." 

"If I were still in government, I’d be pushing the industry to lay down demonstrable steps — including showing contacts and timelines— given the major public safety implications.”

O’Reilly currently is president of MPOReilly Consulting, Inc. and is a visiting fellow at the Hudson Institute, focusing on technology and communications policy issues. During his tenure as FCC Commissioner, O'Reilly concentrated on a wide range of issues, including spectrum allocation, wireless technology, and efforts to modernize regulatory frameworks to support technological advancements.

Jeffries had told U.S. Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX-22), during the Jan. 23 hearing that the rail industry "will comply" with the FCC initiative to reallocate to a new block of the 900 MHz spectrum given to them by the FCC to support broadband deployment. 

"I've talked to our our internal experts and we're on schedule to comply and I’d be happy to bring in those experts to to sit down with you and your team and (discuss) in more detail," said Jefferies. "But that process is in place and we're moving forward."

The FCC initiative is expected to significantly enhance safety, productivity, and operational efficiency across the six major Class I railroads, including: Burlington Northern, CSX, Canadian National, Canadian Pacific, Union Pacific, and Norfolk Southern.