CTIA Seeks Movement of 6 GHz Incumbents to 7 GHz Band, Seen Facing Uphill Fight
CTIA and carriers are pushing the FCC to move some 6 GHz incumbents to spectrum above 7.125 GHz, but it’s unclear that approach will work. NTIA has been scoping the 7125-8400 MHz band since the summer (see 1908010065). NTIA officials now say they think federal agencies, particularly DOD, are active in the band and their systems would be difficult to relocate, said industry officials active in the proceeding. Some uses of the band are classified.
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“Policymakers are right to look at the 6 GHz band for licensed and unlicensed service,” CTIA General Counsel Tom Power told us: “These conversations are always challenging and take time, but no federal users are being asked to move and these discussions can lead to tangible benefits.”
CTIA recently floated legislative language to House Commerce Committee members proposing that incumbents in the upper half of the 6 GHz band be relocated to 7 GHz, to clear the 6 GHz band for eventual auction, said a Wi-Fi advocate. But clearing that band would mean relocating tens of thousands of fixed links, many of which are used by public safety and electric utilities, the lawyer said, noting staff for Chairman Ajit Pai seem to view the proposal as a nonstarter that would mean years of delay at the NTIA. The FCC didn’t comment.
Senate Communications Subcommittee ranking member Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, wrote Pai last week opposing the relocation. “Moving these incumbent users would be costly, difficult and impractical,” Schatz said: “The 6 GHz band provides unique characteristics that meet the topographical requirements that are absent in the 7 GHz band. Moreover, it is unclear that there is sufficient additional room in the 7 GHz band.” Schatz said an initial check in Hawaii “shows that the band is heavily used by federal agencies and not channelized in a manner that would be conductive to microwave use.”
“In addition to considering impact on the federal agencies’ operations in the 7.125-8.4 GHz band, it is important to consider the relocation’s impact on thousands of point-to-point microwave links in the 6 GHz band that currently support a variety of critical services,” said Alex Roytblat, Wi-Fi Alliance senior director-regulatory affairs: “While proposals to allow unlicensed services in the 6 GHz band seek to avoid impact on the incumbents, the CTIA’s relocation proposal, even if it were feasible from the federal agencies’ perspective, would entail significant effort, expense and uncertainty for the 6 GHz networks operators.”
Mid-Band Critical
“We’ve got to find a good source of mid-band spectrum for 5G use, and the sooner the better,” said Doug Brake, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation director-broadband and spectrum policy. DOD “has to expand its thinking on spectrum and recognize the strategic importance of U.S. leadership in 5G and the potential applications and capabilities that depend on it,” he said: “Each band is unique, and it’s hard to say without knowing more about the incumbent systems in 7 GHz whether this is a good path to head down. But it’s hard if DOD simply says ‘no, can’t do it.’ We need more creative, proactive approaches for making space and updating systems.”
“It’s hard to tell” whether opening the 7 GHz band is possible, said Public Knowledge Senior Vice President Harold Feld. “One of the problems is that CTIA reflexively always wants more,” he said. “It’s what they do. Whatever spectrum is around, they will always want a piece of it. It’s not surprising that at the last minute they [CTIA] are pushing for this approach.”
“This is typical of the battles we’re going to see from now forward with mid-band spectrum,” said CCG Consulting’s Doug Dawson. “The FCC already tackled the bands of spectrum where it was possible to relocate existing uses of the spectrum. … There are various slices of spectrum all up and down the frequency scale that are used by the military and by folks like meteorologists.” Classified spectrum is especially difficult, he said. “We aren’t allowed to know much about the spectrum used by the military, but the FCC is taking on a powerful foe when they try to dislodge them, or even just stick some other use immediately next to a spectrum where it might cause interference,” he said. “I wouldn’t make any bets on the FCC winning many of those battles.” Wireless policy pretends “radios are well behaved and stay within the narrow bands of frequency assigned to them,” Dawson said: “In reality radios do all sorts of crazy stuff and when you park different uses of spectrum close to each other, mayhem often ensues.”