FCC Asks for Hard Data on Carrier Spectrum Needs
The FCC is asking a battery of questions about the need for more carrier spectrum, in light of testimony at various commission workshops on the topics as part of development of a National Broadband Plan. Wireless industry officials said the FCC seems to be asking most of the right questions in the inquiry.
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“With a looming spectrum crisis, CTIA believes it’s critical to identify and allocate significant additional amounts of spectrum for licensed commercial wireless services to feed this exploding ecosystem,” said Chris Guttman-McCabe, CTIA regulatory vice president. “So, we're pleased to see the FCC’s attention to meeting the spectrum needs of an increasingly mobile communications marketplace.”
“We're thrilled that they're doing this,” said Kathleen Ham, T-Mobile vice president of federal regulatory affairs. “I think it underscores the importance of spectrum to a national broadband plan.”
The bad news for the industry is yet another filing date in an increasingly hectic fall schedule. Comments are due Oct. 23, replies on Nov. 13.
“Participants in the proceeding have raised the issue that the United States will not have sufficient spectrum available to meet demands for wireless broadband in the near future,” the FCC said. “In this Public Notice, therefore, we seek additional comment on the fundamental question of whether current spectrum allocations, including but not limited to the prime bands below 3.7 GHz, are adequate to support near- and longer-term demands of wireless broadband.” The FCC asked companies to provide “detailed, fact-based responses and to the extent possible provide quantitative data and analytical justification for their arguments.”
The notice asks for advice on the ability of current spectrum allocations to support “next-generation build-outs and the anticipated surge in demand and throughput requirements.” At a Sept. 17 workshop, AT&T, Verizon Wireless and other company executives (CD Sept 18 p2) warned that carriers will need more spectrum to handle growing demands on their networks. The FCC got similar advice at Monday’s field hearing in Austin, Texas, chaired by Commissioner Meredith Baker (CD Sept 22 p6). The FCC does ask financial questions and a major carrier theme has been their huge expenditures on their networks, several sources noted Thursday. The FCC scheduled a workshop on economic issues Oct. 9.
“How should we think about the capacity of existing allocations and their ability to support growth in wireless broadband?” the FCC asks. “Is there enough spectrum to support announced and future network deployments? We specifically request that commenters be specific as to quantitative methods to address this question, including economic, engineering, or other rigorous analytical approaches, and provide the underlying assumptions.” The FCC asked for advice on “how much spectrum is required to allow mobile wireless access to compete with fixed and/or wired access for large portions of the US population for bandwidth rich applications, such as video streaming and downloading large files?”
The FCC also asks a battery of questions about the most suitable bands that could be used for licensed services. “What is the current stock of spectrum available to support mobile wireless broadband? What is the proper methodology to compute this quantity?” the commission queries. “Which other spectrum bands might be most appropriate to repurpose to support mobile wireless broadband? Would these bands support shared use or would they need to be reallocated? What specific mechanisms should be used to facilitate transitions from incumbents?”