Industry's Attitude to Spectrum Sharing Substantially Shifted From Five Years Ago, Execs Say
Broadcasters and wireless carriers have substantially shifted their position on spectrum sharing in recent years, particularly after the AWS-3 auction process, industry executives said Thursday at an FCBA event. Executives compared their shift to the November 2013 joint agreement between the Department of Defense (DOD) and NAB on spectrum sharing, which they noted has been widely seen as a major shift in DOD’s attitude to spectrum sharing. The DOD-NAB agreement involved DOD's agreeing to partially vacate the 1755-1780 MHz band, relocate affected systems to the 2025-2110 MHz band and accommodate broadcasters’ needs on the 2025 MHz band (see report in the Nov. 26, 2013, issue).
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Verizon still sees full clearing of spectrum as the “gold standard” for acquiring new spectrum because it can be difficult to manage shared spectrum “while your customers are wandering all over the place,” but the telco has gradually recognized that spectrum sharing will be a fact of life in the future, said Vice President-Wireless Policy Development Charla Rath. “Are we saying sharing is the only way? No,” she said, saying the company believes there are multiple viable ways to get additional spectrum to meet demand. “I’m sure I wouldn’t have said” that five years ago, Rath said. Verizon has been heavily involved in the ongoing 3.5 GHz proceeding and Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee activities, and did extensive testing before the AWS-3 auction to “see where we could share,” she said.
Five years ago, Qualcomm relied on a “one-legged stool” of options for acquiring spectrum that was dependent on finding cleared spectrum, but that’s changed substantially in the years since, Senior Vice President-Government Affairs Dean Brenner said. Qualcomm now sees spectrum sharing as a “global phenomenon, a global technology trend,” he said. “We’re always looking to eke out another megahertz here or there” or find a way to “drive in” a new form of technology to satisfy demand from wireless carriers, Brenner said.
The potential value of the AWS-3 spectrum auctioned through Jan. 29 “unlocked” broadcasters’ willingness to share the 2025 MHz band with DOD, though broadcasters also see spectrum sharing as “good spectrum policy in terms of efficiency,” NAB Vice President-Spectrum Policy Patrick McFadden said. The AWS-3 auction ended with almost $45 billion in winning bids (see 1501290059), making it “a combination of an elephant and an 800-pound gorilla in the room” for broadcasters as planning for the 2016 TV incentive auction continues, McFadden said. “It certainly got the attention of broadcasters” and those who might be interested in acquiring spectrum in the future, he said. “No analyst predicted numbers this high.”
Formal negotiations for sharing of the auctioned AWS-3 spectrum are to begin Oct. 30, but NTIA is encouraging involved parties to discuss sharing terms informally before then, NTIA Office of Spectrum Management Deputy Associate Administrator Peter Tenhula said. Those informal negotiations harken back to old-fashioned operator-to-operator spectrum sharing agreements, he said. The FCC also expects “people will be talking and gearing up” informally so when formal negotiations begin Oct. 30, “the terms are well understood to both sides,” FCC Wireless Bureau Deputy Chief John Leibovitz said.