NTIA Looking at 7.1 GHz Band, But Unlicensed Use No Slam Dunk
One of the bands NTIA seeks more information on from other agencies is a relative mystery band, 7125-8400 MHz, which has gotten little previous attention. It's among those mentioned in the Advancing Innovation and Reinvigorating Widespread Access to Viable Electromagnetic Spectrum (Airwaves) Act, which seeks to identify spectrum for unlicensed use and free up mid-band spectrum for auction (see 1802070054). The band is directly north of spectrum the FCC is already looking at for unlicensed use, the 6 GHz band.
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Industry executives said they have heard relatively little about the 7125-8400 MHz band. “I think there’s a lot of incumbents, so not sure how doable” it would be to share the band, said a lawyer with carrier clients. The GSM Association promoted the band in Europe but faced pushback from NATO, because of its operations there, industry officials said. GSMA didn't comment.
NTIA last week asked other agencies for information on their use of the 7125-8400 MHz band (see 1908010065). NTIA said at least 18 departments or agencies use the band, with 8,713 links present. These include the U.S. military, plus the Commerce, Homeland Security and State departments.
U.S. unlicensed advocates are focused on 6 GHz because of the potential for it to be harmonized, while 7 GHz has some significant complications because of military use in the U.S. and in Europe, said Michael Calabrese, director of the Wireless Future Program at New America.
"It is past time for a more holistic reform to federal spectrum incentives” and the NTIA data collection “is another important step in the pragmatic, incremental rationalization of federal spectrum use,” said Doug Brake, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation director-broadband and spectrum policy: “It’s a complicated set of data they’re looking for, and there are probably simpler mechanisms to transition spectrum, but this will hopefully yield a good sense of what is in the band and what sort of sharing scenarios are feasible.”
It’s “encouraging” that NTIA identified 1,275 MHz in the band, said Recon Analytics' Roger Entner: “We need more spectrum and every time more than several hundred MHz are found, we are doing another step in making the U.S. more competitive.”
CTIA didn’t comment, but previously mentioned the band in a fact sheet on the Airwaves Act. In comments on the 6 GHz band, CTIA also urged a look at the 7.1 GHz spectrum. The band has “potential to accommodate fixed service operations that are relocated out of 6 GHz,” CTIA said in docket 18-295.
Ericsson proposed licensed use of the 6 GHz band, with unlicensed in 7.125-8.5 GHz. Federal agencies using the 6 GHz band would be transitioned to the higher band, under Ericsson’s proposal.
“Both proposals are patently unworkable,” Hewlett Packard Enterprise said in response to CTIA and Ericsson. “They are unsupported by the record, lack even basic analysis, and would delay FCC action for years.”
Dynamic Spectrum Alliance President Martha Suarez said unlicensed spectrum could be critical to addressing the digital divide, speaking Monday at a TV white spaces workshop in Buenos Aires. “Traditional digital inclusion efforts have been tried and they have fallen short of the expectations, with over 4 billion people still left unconnected to broadband,” Suarez said. “By making spectrum abundant for broadband connectivity, the industry will be able to stimulate wireless innovation for next-generation broadband and accelerate an inclusive digital economy.”