TLPS Lobbying by Globalstar, Critics Accelerating
The lobbying on the draft order for Globalstar's planned broadband terrestrial low-power service (TLPS) has intensified in recent days at the FCC, according to ex parte filings in docket 13-213. The order on circulation is finding somewhat rocky soil at the agency, with "no" votes from Commissioners Ajit Pai and Jessica Rosenworcel (see 1606030041). Globalstar didn't comment Tuesday.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
However, that level of 8th floor ex parte activity might quiet down, since many of the recent meetings were likely scheduled when the item was circulated and before it was known Pai and Rosenworcel would oppose, the outside counsel for one party that met with FCC representatives in recent days regarding Globalstar told us. Once those scheduled meetings play out, the item will likely either languish with no action or get withdrawn and rewritten because it stands little chance of getting three votes as is, the lawyer said.
Hearing Industries Association (HIA) Executive Director Andy Bopp met Monday with aides to Rosenworcel and Commissioner Mignon Clyburn to argue that past technical demonstrations leave too many unanswered questions about other users of the 2.4 GHz band, such as possible effects to Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) or the availability of Bluetooth LE advertising channels that would allow for discovery of devices available in the vicinity, said an ex parte filing Tuesday in docket 13-213. "HIA supports smart spectrum sharing, but that would require a reasonable assurance of access to key advertising channels, such as by defined time sharing," and the Globalstar proposed order seemingly doesn't take this into consideration, it said. HIA also argued against Globalstar getting conditional authority on the basis that other users would have to test against its deployment, because unless that initial deployment has the same set-up and technical characteristics as future deployments, it "may not prove accurate or useful," HIA said, saying its engineers need information on all possible deployment scenarios to model the possible effects on Bluetooth LE and other low-power technology hearing aids.
Globalstar held a series of meetings in recent days with Chairman Tom Wheeler aide Edward Smith, International Bureau Chief Mindel De La Torre, Satellite Division Chief Jose Albuquerque, Office of Engineering and Technology Chief Julius Knapp and Commissioner Mike O'Rielly, said a filing Monday in the docket. In each case the company said it urged FCC adoption and discussed public benefits from eased Wi-Fi congestion in the 2.4 GHz band and "the incentive of incumbents to delay and deter competition."
NCTA and Cox Enterprises officials similarly met with O'Rielly's office, said a filing Monday, repeating their point that special temporary authority would be a better route for investigating interference questions than the pending order, and their arguments for some modifications to any order the FCC might approve (see 1606010043). The Entertainment Software Association (ESA), Hearing Industries Association, Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony Electronics jointly met with O'Rielly staff to lay out some TLPS criticisms, including potential degrading of videogame console use that relies on the 2.4 GHz band and arguing the technical record "does not provide the Commission with an adequate basis to adopt the rule changes sought by Globalstar."
ESA and the others said Globalstar shouldn't get permanent TLPS authority until after the FCC has reviewed new data from the proposed one-year rollout and confirmed there's no Wi-Fi or Bluetooth harm. They said they oppose any FCC grant of authority and repeated arguments for a draft order including "at least minimal safeguards."
Public Knowledge (PK) and New America's Open Technology Institute (OTI) met Monday with Clyburn aide Daudeline Meme and had a roughly identical meeting days earlier with Rosenworcel, it said in a pair of filings (see here and here). In both cases, PK and OTI again pushed their proposal for approval on the condition Globalstar allow reciprocal public use of channel 14 in locations where TLPS isn't deployed and where Globalstar says there's slim risk channel 14 transmissions will interfere with its mobile satellite device customers (see 1603250042). "Channel 14 Wi-Fi spectrum should not lie fallow in schools, libraries and other venues in urban areas if it can be accessed on a secondary basis without interfering with TLPS deployments," PK/OTI said.
O'Rielly and Rosenworcel staff met Thursday with Wireless Communications Association and Sprint representatives on concerns about a proposed out-of-band emissions mask for TLPS, said a filing in the docket Monday. And in a letter to Chairman Tom Wheeler posted Monday, the Wi-Fi Alliance cited the concerns raised by critics and urged him to withdraw the draft order.