OET Examining Meteorology Spectrum to Be Paired with AWS-3 Band
The FCC will seek comment on reallocation of the 1675-1710 MHz band, which could be paired with the AWS-3 band for wireless broadband, commission officials said Wednesday. An Office of Engineering and Technology public notice is circulating on the eighth floor and is expected to be published Friday.
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The 1675-1710 MHz band is an alternative to the 1755-1780 MHz band that wireless carriers have urged be paired with AWS-3 spectrum. The 1755-1780 MHz is used for DOD and law enforcement operations that could prove tough to move elsewhere. NTIA Administrator Lawrence Strickling said in a recent speech (CD May 4 p1) that 1755-1780 MHz is “a very tough band and people should understand that."
The 1670-1710 MHz band is used mostly for meteorological purposes, such as radiosonde operations. Thehe National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration and NASA use the spectrum to transmit environmental research and weather data, according to an NTIA report. NOAA and NASA operate fixed point-to-point microwave communications in the 1700-1710 MHz portion of the band.
The 1670-1710 MHz spectrum would be much less valuable for carriers than the 1755-1780 MHz band, a wireless industry attorney warned. “1755-1780 MHz is part of the international harmonization, at least in the Americas, for 3G,” the attorney noted. The other band “is kind of a funky band. It’s like a whole new band.” Unlike 1755-1780 MHz, the 1670-1710 MHz spectrum would require carriers to invest in expensive base-station upgrades, the attorney said, and wireless carriers likely will urge the FCC, “Don’t take 1755 MHz off the table.”
"This band probably has fewer equities in it than the 1755 MHz band,” said a former government official. “I think that’s obviously one reason they're looking at it,” the official said of the 1670-1710 MHz band. “It has been internationally allocated to meteorology. It doesn’t mean that can’t be lifted or changed.”
M2Z continues to urge that the FCC set aside the AWS-3 band for a free national broadband service, with no need to pair the spectrum with a second band. Wireless carriers led by T-Mobile say M2Z’s proposal poses a significant risk to any carriers that bought licenses in the original AWS auction.