Qualcomm, Public Interest Groups Ask FCC to Further Explore Future Use of 10 GHz Band
Qualcomm, public interest groups and other commenters said the FCC should further explore the future of the 10-10.5 GHz band. Comments were filed in response to an FCC public notice on a 2013 proposal by Mimosa Networks (http://bit.ly/1n6lCb4) asking that the band be set aside for outdoor and long-distance backhaul links at the power levels allowed under Part 90, subpart Z, of commission rules. Amateur radio operators raised concerns because they already have an allocation in the band.
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"The FCC should consider the opportunities that the 10.0 to 10.5 GHz band can offer to support licensed mobile operations in addition to the wireless backhaul uses Mimosa identifies,” Qualcomm said. The FCC should first determine if the band can be cleared, Qualcomm said. “If clearing is not possible -- at least not in a reasonable time frame which could well be the case here -- the FCC should consider using Authorized Shared Access (ASA) to allow the spectrum to be shared with licensed mobile operations when and where incumbents are not operating,” the company said (http://bit.ly/1gW8GfR). Qualcomm said there’s no question carriers need more spectrum for wireless broadband. “Wireless data usage has been doubling annually over the past several years, and if this trend continues for the next ten years, the level of usage in a decade will be more than 1000 times today’s level.”
New America Foundation’s Open Technology Institute and Public Knowledge said they are taking no position on the Mimosa filing. “We commend Mimosa for advancing protections that have proven effective in other bands,” the groups said (http://bit.ly/1gw99WU). “OTI and PK suggest that the Commission request comment and data in the NPRM that will allow it to consider whether the interference mitigation measures it imposes could be quite different depending on different use cases, including potentially small cell and indoor applications that would not present the same risk of interference to either the amateur service or to radar operations as would long-distance microwave links.”
The Wireless ISP Association also said the FCC should develop a “full and complete record” based on the Mimosa petition. “WISPA’s members are extremely interested in obtaining access to additional spectrum for point-to-point and point-to-multipoint operations,” the group said (http://bit.ly/1kXLXUy). “As Mimosa observes, the allocation of spectrum in the 10 GHz band ‘would facilitate access to higher capacity backhaul that would provide a path for WISPs to offer better services in rural areas.'” WISPA conceded amateur radio operators may have concerns. “WISPA looks forward to productive dialogue with Mimosa and representatives of the amateur radio community to assess, discuss and, hopefully, resolve any interference issues that bear on the commercial allocation and sharing of the 10 GHz band,” the group said.
But the American Radio Relay League urged the FCC to deny or dismiss the petition (http://bit.ly/1iO5a9Y). ARRL said there’s an amateur service secondary allocation at 10.0-10.5 GHz, and the amateur-satellite service has a secondary allocation at 10.45-10.5 GHz. In the U.S., there are 710,000 licensed amateur radio operators who “regularly (and increasingly) utilize this band,” ARRL said.