Broad Reach of Mid-Band NOI Leads Many Sectors to Comment
The FCC’s mid-band notice of inquiry attracted what some saw as a surprising amount of interest last week, with just under 80 substantial comments filed by carriers, cable companies, Wi-Fi advocates, satellite operators, content companies, electric utilities and public safety entities, and the interest groups that represent them. Several industry officials said by opening such a broad inquiry the FCC probably inadvertently raised red flags on some bands that aren't under consideration for 5G. The NOI asks about spectrum 3.7-24 GHz, while targeting three specific bands -- 3.7-4.2, 5.925-6.425 and 6.425-7.125 GHz (see 1708030052).
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At a 5G Americas spectrum conference Thursday attendees said they were impressed by the number of comments filed and said it will be difficult to wade through all of them. But industry observers said Friday the number of comments shouldn’t be a surprise since the FCC is looking at bands, especially the 3.7-4.2 and 6 GHz bands, targeted by the wireless industry and unlicensed advocates but defended by incumbents who see them as critical to their operations.
Supporters of opening the 6 GHz band for sharing said that had a particular focus because it's also a focus of the European standards process and IEEE has begun standards work on the band before it's even available in the U.S.
Kalpak Gude, president of the Dynamic Spectrum Alliance, reported on meetings Thursday with Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel and an aide to Commissioner Mignon Clyburn. Dynamic spectrum access is critical, Gude said, according to a filing in 17-183, the mid-band docket. “DSA believes that protection of incumbent services in the band would enable a much quicker path towards fuller utilization of the spectrum,” he said. “Debates about forcing incumbents to either vacate the band or grandfather existing services, thus stifling any potential future growth, would only slow the process and leave the spectrum under utilized for many years.”
The NOI was “very broad,” ViaSat Associate General Counsel-Regulatory Affairs Chris Murphy said in an interview. “But at the end there was a question about additional bands. We, like others, wanted to make sure that it was well known that we’re using those bands already,” especially 17-20.2 GHz, he said. “We just wanted to make sure that whatever the commission does it takes into account existing users.”
"As the market trumpeted to the world during the AWS-3 auction, mid-band frequencies have fast become the most valuable spectrum of this decade,” said former FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell, now at Cooley. “Its propagation characteristics dovetail perfectly with emerging mobile and IoT technologies, and that has caught the attention of tech and mobile companies alike. It's a raging bull market for mid-band."
"It may not be as simple as incumbents trying to protect their interests,” said Chris Szymanski, Broadcom director-product marketing and government affairs: “There's a recognition that more licensed and unlicensed spectrum is needed to support broadband, so we see a lot of more nuanced positions emerging.” Ten 6 GHz band incumbents signed on to one of the proposals to share the spectrum with Wi-Fi. “They have something to lose, but recognize there's more to gain from more efficient use of the spectrum,” he said. There were lots of comments on the 6 GHz band “because the industry is already moving," he said. “The Wi-Fi industry has identified 6 GHz as the optimal mid-band spectrum target.” With standards work already underway in Europe and at the IEEE on 6 GHz, he said: “I think many see this as an opportunity for the U.S. to define the rules.”
The large number of comments reflects that the FCC is launching “a lengthy investigation of three spectrum bands, when it could instead be taking specific action” to approve the Broadband Access Coalition’s (BAC’s) June 21 petition to speed the process of enabling GB and near-GB broadband service in rural and underserved areas, said Jimmy Carr, a director at the Wireless ISP Association. WISPA was an early supporter of the coalition’s proposal to use the 3.7-4.2 GHz band for fixed wireless (see 1706210044).
“The 23 million rural Americans who lack basic fixed broadband service in their homes should be outraged if this NOI results in delaying the deployment of broadband in their communities to once again prioritize the needs of the mobile industry,” Carr said. “If the mobile carriers need spectrum, it is to provide additional capacity in urban areas, not coverage in rural areas.”
“Both mobile and fixed wireless broadband providers are looking for spectrum with wider channels, to support high-capacity service, and with propagation through trees and over larger areas than is possible with high-frequency, spectrum frontier bands,” said Michael Calabrese, director of the Wireless Future Program at New America. Calabrese, who also supports the BAC proposal, said the sharing regime in the 3.5 GHz band should show something similar can work for fixed wireless and the roughly 4,000 satellite earth stations in the 3.7 GHz band: “The only remaining question is which services will be allowed to share the band and on what terms.”
“The mid-band spectrum inquiry pits two visions against each other,” network architect Richard Bennett said. “One faction sees [the spectrum] as suitable for indoor use, and the other wants to use it for outdoor networks. It also contrasts two models of government spectrum use -- shall legacy applications be accepted as they are, or should they be upgraded and managed like private sector networks?” A flexible-use licensing model “continues to be the most efficient way to allocate and use wireless bandwidth,” Bennett said.