CSMAC To Take Up Bidirectional Sharing, Future of 5 GHz Bands
The Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee will take on a political hot potato Friday -- bidirectional sharing, in which commercial licensees would be asked to share their underutilized spectrum with the federal government (see 1508260066). CSMAC is to consider recommendations by its Federal Access to Non-Federal Bands Subcommittee during its quarterly meeting. Bidirectional sharing has been controversial (see 1509010059).
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The subcommittee is looking at DOD and public safety use of commercial spectrum. Initial recommendations cover public safety, said a briefing document posted by NTIA Monday.
“Because the process to share non-Federal spectrum is not universally known by Federal Agencies, NTIA/FCC should prepare a reference document describing the existing protocols for Federal agencies to gain access, for shared mission critical communication applications, to non-Federal public safety spectrum,” the subcommittee said. It urges NTIA or the FCC to “develop and maintain a database” reporting on pending and executed bidirectional agreements “as both a reference and evidence of best practices.” Both agencies should also explore whether and how federal agencies could directly hold a license for nonfederal spectrum, the subcommittee said.
A second CSMAC subcommittee is working on a paper on whether evolving database and sensing approaches approved in the U.S. can be exported internationally. The Spectrum Access System/Spectrum Database International Extension Subcommittee is to give an update to CSMAC Friday. NTIA posted a briefing document Monday.
The subcommittee said it's focusing on a central question: “What are the challenges in using database and sensing approaches for international spectrum management, and how can NTIA help address these challenges?” Preliminary recommendations for further subcommittee study include that the NTIA should establish spectrum priorities for collaborative dynamic sharing internationally, and “what are the systems that would be good to share and share sooner than later,” the subcommittee said.
The subcommittee cited as an example spectrum at 3.4 GHz to 3.8 GHz for sharing internationally. The subcommittee suggests NTIA study and develop policies on privacy and security for international sharing by federal users and “methods or mechanisms by which spectrum sharing capability could be provided directly to other countries to facilitate sharing.”
The CSMAC Measurement and Sensing in 5 GHz Subcommittee also released an update on a pending report on government use of two key unlicensed bands -- U-NII-2B (5350-5470 MHz) and U-NII-4 (5850-5925 MHz). The document is to be discussed at the CSMAC meeting.
The subcommittee is putting together a list of systems and functions in the 5 GHz spectrum, said an update posted by NTIA. The subcommittee is also looking at “characterization of key parameters” and “parallels with 3.5 GHz measurements,” the update said. The 3.5 GHz band is being opened by the FCC for shared use using SASs and advanced sharing techniques.
The subcommittee said it's developing a straw man outline. It will include recommendations on measurement techniques to use as well as techniques that must be developed, and “possible policy impacts and workarounds,” the subcommittee said.