US Must Play Larger Role in Leading ITU for Support to Continue, O'Rielly Says

“My goal is to raise concerns that I experienced in WRC-15 and amplify those,” O’Rielly said. ITU holds its next Plenipotentiary Conference in 2018 in Dubai, he noted. “We have an opportunity to run a candidate or multiple candidates from the United States and from the region for the open slots that are available. I think that we should actively do that.” If the U.S. is going to be part of the ITU, “we should have a seat at the leadership table,” he said.

The U.S. pays for a big part of the ITU, which gives it a lever to demand more control, O’Rielly said. Based on discussions on Capitol Hill and elsewhere, many agree the ITU must be changed, he said: “It’s not a foregone conclusion those funds are going to flow” without changes. The U.S. benefits from participation, he said, “but I think we need reforms with that, so it’s no longer status quo.”

“It’s hard to change such a large organization with so many countries and members,” O’Rielly told reporters. “I’m going to keep talking about the problem and I will at the same time be working on what should be, from my view, the solutions.”

O’Rielly said in his speech some “eschew” the need for global harmonization of spectrum. “There is the ability to use your devices and have the same wireless experience at home and abroad,” O’Rielly said. “Economies of scale created by marketing products internationally enables research, development and manufacturing costs to be widely dispersed, promoting investment and innovation while reducing the cost of devices and services for Americans.” The State Department and ITU didn’t comment.

O’Rielly said the FCC should publish a schedule of upcoming auctions for high-frequency spectrum cleared for 5G as part of the spectrum frontiers proceeding. “The Airwaves Act [Advancing Innovation and Reinvigorating Widespread Access to Viable Electromagnetic Spectrum], a bipartisan bill recently introduced in the U.S. Senate, recognizes the importance of completing these auctions in a timely fashion,” he said.

Changes to rules for the 3.5 GHz band, now before commissioners, aren't intended to make it a “5G band,” O'Rielly said. The FCC approved a three-tier structure for the band -- incumbents, priority access licenses (PALs) and general access unlicensed use. An NPRM circulated by Chairman Ajit Pai this week mainly addresses changes for the PALs but is controversial (see 1710030059). “I have no intention of disrupting [unlicensed use] or negating the work done on the various databases. I just want all three tiers of this so-called experiment to be able to work, which they do not today,” O'Rielly said. “I know not everyone is happy,” he said after.

O’Rielly told us he expects action on wireless and wireline infrastructure after the Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee releases its reports, likely in early November. “From that we’ll then be able to use those ideas into the three proceedings that we have and hopefully take action whether in November or December, hopefully soon,” he said. “We need to be very aggressive.”

The 5.9 GHz proceeding is also important, O’Rielly said after his speech. Wi-Fi companies hope to share the band, set aside for dedicated short-range communications technology designed to curb vehicle crashes and save lives (see 1707190041). “I continue to follow the issue and I know this is something that’s important to the administration,” he said. “Our testing is still occurring at the lab stage,” with field tests to come, he said. “Things have been going relatively well.”

5G Americas Notebook

5G Americas Chairman Paul Greendyk told the conference industry faces massive growth in data traffic. “Some applications coming down the pike” are going “to consume bandwidth in amounts that were inconceivable even a couple of years ago,” he said. Technologies like autonomous cars, virtual reality and augmented reality “are really coming,” he said. One minute of virtual reality will consume up to 1 GB of data, he said. Demand for mobile continues to grow, he said. Industry is “delivering,” Greendyk said. “There’s huge amounts of works going on in standards,” he said. “Certainly, more internationally harmonized spectrum is critical.” High frequency bands will be key, but mid- and high-band spectrum are also still important, he said. Greendyk is AT&T vice president-mobile core and network services.

Every new generation of wireless must do two things -- it must improve on the previous generation and it must allow wireless to be used in a way it couldn't before, said Mike Murphy, Nokia chief technology officer-North America. Murphy said 5G will be “bigger, faster, better” than 4G and will enable millions of IoT devices per square kilometer, instead of the thousands allowed by LTE. The 5G network will require an LTE base and will last for years to come, he said: “LTE is already good as it is, very efficient.”