No Unified View on HAPS in 70/80/90 GHz Bands
Opening the E band to high altitude platform systems (HAPS) generated clashing viewpoints in docket 20-133 comments Friday. HAPS, point-to-point links in motion and fixed satellite service gateway access to the 70/80/90 GHz bands help in the broader goal of…
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allowing more innovative wireless internet services, Public Knowledge and Open Technology Institute at New America said. They said existing database coordination in the band means the benefits of accommodating the services outweigh any downsides, and database-coordinated sharing is feasible. HAPS startup Sceye said it needs E-band backhaul connectivity to a limited number of ground stations, with that small number meaning the odds of interference with other terrestrial E-band operators are quite low. HAPS and similar services have "little documented interest ... and, unlike 5G, no deployment," T-Mobile said, arguing there's no reason to change FCC rules to accommodate HAPS. Given the importance of the 70/80/90 GHz bands to wireless backhaul and site connectivity, the FCC's chief priority should be to modify its technical rules governing them to better support wireless backhaul, T-Mobile said. Nokia said the band's fixed service rules need "modest changes" to allow deployment of smaller backhaul antennas for 5G deployments in areas without fiber to potential base stations. Such an update could be done separately from HAPS-related decisions, it said. Microwave communications company Geneva Communications said an update of E-band rules such as a required filing of a construction certification with the millimeter wave database manager when a link is placed in operation is a higher priority than opening the band to new potential uses like HAPS. That registration requirement, along with a penalty, would deter false certifications, Geneva said. SpaceX urged a single licensing and link registration process for fixed links, ground-to-air links, fixed satellite service gateways and other directional "pencil beam" antennas in the 70/80 GHz bands. Qualcomm said there also should be E-band access for 5G-based private networks, industrial IoT and smart manufacturing applications indoors, and 5G backhaul and mobile services outdoors. All those uses could operate on a co-primary licensed basis without causing harmful interference, it said. If the FCC doesn't authorize outdoor terrestrial mobile operations in the band in its upcoming order, it should put out a Further NPRM proposing flexible use operations with a concurrent order allowing better backhaul operations, indoor operations licensed-by-rule and air-to-ground operations in the band.