Obama’s Spectrum Quest Could Find Defense, Private Allocations
The president’s quest to get 500 MHz of spectrum for wireless broadband (CD June 28 p1) could be met by using allocations from various federal government agencies, including the Defense Department, and spectrum set for private use, broadcast and wireless lawyers said. Spectrum on the government side could also come from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Justice Department, while mobile satellite service (MSS), D block and other spectrum set for private use also would help, they said. President Barack Obama’s memo outlining the White House’s commitment to identifying and reallocating federal and commercial spectrum has left those in the wireless and broadcast industries wondering how the administration and agencies will proceed, and which private sector entities are willing to let go of their spectrum.
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Some players in the public safety industry hope that following through with the goals of identifying spectrum will leave the D-Block available for their operations. “At this point, there is no legitimate reason for the FCC to rush to auction the D Block since alternative revenue sources from spectrum auction have been identified,” said Public Safety Alliance spokesman Richard Mirgon. Industry analysts suggested that the bulk of the federal spectrum commitment may come from Defense or NOAA. For the private sector, industry advocates said spectrum could come from a number of places including the AWS 2 and 3 bands, 700 MHz including the D block, 90 MHz from MSS and possibly a substantial amount from advanced wireless service.
For some smaller TV stations facing financial troubles or bankruptcy, auctioning their spectrum may be a viable option, some said. Generally most broadcasters think it is too soon to tell and they need more information before they commit to auctioning any of the licenses as the FCC has suggested, they said. “A vast majority of broadcasters are resistant and skeptical to this proposal,” said lawyer Andrew Lipman of Bingham. “Historically it has been challenging to get the federal government to forgo spectrum. So the first step would be to see in the inventory what the federal government has and what could be made available."
The focus shouldn’t be on broadcasters only, said Chris Guttman-McCabe, CTIA regulatory affairs vice president. “There needs to be a focus on a number of areas to repurpose spectrum from,” including finding ways to take and rationalize government use and reallocating from fixed microwave, he said. “Putting everything on the table makes total sense.”
Some wireless industry officials supported Obama’s proposal but acknowledged that the FCC could take more immediate steps to achieve more spectrum release much sooner. “I'd like to see more current utilization of spectrum,” said Steve Berry, Rural Cellular Association president. Finding more spectrum is one thing, but immediately deploying it for commercial use is another, he said. The FCC should move channel 51 to channel 56, require data roaming and “make all spectrum in the 700 MHz interoperable, especially with public safety,” he said. 3G Americas agreed that freed up spectrum must be “harmonized” regionally, nationally and globally, said President Chris Pearson.
The hard local infrastructure to maximize spectrum use is the main hurdle, PCIA said. “We're seeing increasing difficulty of deploying infrastructure at the local level, especially with collocation,” Director of Government Affairs Mike Saperstein said. “The more spectrum, the better.” But “without the local infrastructure, it’s not going to be an effective use,” he said.
Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., is concerned the memo fully supports auctioning the D Block for commercial use, he said in a written statement. “While I am pleased to see that the presidential memorandum acknowledged the need for funding for a public safety wireless communications network, I was disappointed not to see a White House endorsement for any additional spectrum to specifically be allocated for public safety.” In April he introduced a bill that would grant his request (CD April 22 p11).