Wireless Bureau Chief, Wireless Execs Stress Infrastructure Deployment, Mobile Capacity For Future
The FCC Wireless Bureau is focusing heavily on spectrum, infrastructure deployment and competition, said Chief Roger Sherman. Under Chairman Tom Wheeler, the bureau has been moving at a very fast pace and taking on many complex issues, Sherman said Tuesday at a Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) event in Washington. There are many opportunities in the marketplace that fit into the bureau’s agenda, following the H block and AWS-3 auctions, and the wireless infrastructure proceeding, that can help promote innovations, he said. There also are opportunities to remove barriers to the deployment of wireless infrastructure, to make more spectrum available “in new and innovative ways,” and to promote and protect the competitive marketplace, he said.
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The efforts that the bureau is undertaking require the engagement and collaboration of stakeholders from industry and the public interest community, Sherman said. There are better outcomes when the FCC doesn’t have to adjudicate between two or more legal, technical or policy positions, he said. Such collaboration led to the usability of the H block, he said. Due to solutions-based thinking at the Department of Defense, NTIA, the FCC, in Congress, and in industry, the AWS-3 spectrum will be auctioned next month, he said. If the 3.5 GHz proceeding is successful “it will open up prospects for expanding access across other federal bands for new civilian uses,” he said.
It's critical to allow companies to deploy spectrum and meet infrastructure demands of modern wireless networks, Sherman said. He said he’s pleased the FCC adopted an order reducing the cost and delays associated with wireless facility collocations (see 1410170048). It takes into account new realities in wireless deployment, he said. The bureau is working to address questions about application of the FCC roaming rules, he said: There are many petitions and complaints and "staff is actively reviewing them." Sherman also credited providers with reducing prices and establishing more consumer friendly policies.
Although the broadcast spectrum incentive auction is delayed, “our work is by no means stopping or slowing,” Sherman said, referring to the FCC decision to push the auction back to 2016 (see 1410240048). A public notice seeking additional input on the final procedures of the auction is coming in the near future, he said.
The bureau is looking closely at what consumer protections are needed to preserve an Open Internet for fixed and mobile wireless services, Sherman said: As part of that review, “we’re carefully considering implications of mobile network capacity constraints."
Some wireless industry executives cautioned against a blanket prohibition on paid prioritization. A blanket prohibition "would be a terrible mistake,” said Michael Mandel, PPI chief economic strategist. “We're in a very large pool of investable funds” at very low interest rates, he said. There need to be policies that create incentives for investments while the money is cheap, he said: "Paid priority ... can do that." A blanket prohibition would block off the possibility of someone creating a new network “that potentially could create a lot more competition and a lot more investment than we have now,” he said. "We should allow every participant to innovate technically" and around business models, and “around new innovative ways to provide services to consumers,” said Roger Entner, Recon Analytics research analyst.
Cisco supported the FCC 2010 Open Internet order, said Mary Brown, Cisco government affairs director. That support was based on basic differences in technology, she said. Events like the World Cup and the World Series have a different impact in a "capacity-strained wireless world" relative to wireline, she said. The 2010 decision “hit the right notes,” and Cisco has been urging the FCC to stick to that, she said.
The industry wants to maximize investment and have equity for consumers, said Mandel. “If we’re opening up access to more people, it's a good thing.” Part of the incentive should be more investment to create better service possibilities for people, he said.
A significant focus on mobile capacity is inevitable, some of the panelists said. Most of the world’s population is connecting to the Internet through mobile devices, said Brown. That trend will continue, she said. “A competitive market in this space is important to keep service prices down,” but it’s important to bring as many people as possible into the broadband space, she said. Minorities are leading in the wireless revolution, said Entner. They have a higher percentage of smartphone ownership than whites, he said. “We just have to help make it more affordable.” There’s still a long way to go with mobile broadband, said Peter Rysavy, president of Rysavy Research, a wireless consulting company. The tough part today is cutting the cord to the TV and cutting the cord to a broadband connection, he said. “We consume a gigabyte per hour,” while watching Netflix or Hulu, which eats through a broadband package pretty quickly, he said. But future technology, like LTE and small cells, will help to augment capacity, he said.
Some panelists stressed that the infrastructure order should allow for flexibility. It’s important to encourage infrastructure investment as much as possible, Mandel said. Anything that makes that investment easier is a real improvement, "especially as we move to small cells,” he said. The conversation going forward will likely be a balance between spectrum and infrastructure, he added.