FCC EYES WAYS TO USE PRIVATE WIRELESS SPECTRUM MORE EFFICIENTLY
FCC Wireless Bureau Chief Thomas Sugrue outlined several prospects for potentially freeing additional private wireless spectrum Fri., including possibility of user fees, audit of spectrum uses, current secondary spectrum proceeding. Point of user fees for private land mobile radio licenses, idea that has been floated in past and would require change by Congress, wouldn’t be to generate revenue but to increase efficiency of spectrum use, Sugrue said in lunch speech to Land Mobile Communications Council (LMCC) annual meeting in Washington. “The theory is unless there’s a cost placed on bandwidth and coverage, licensees wouldn’t improve their efficiency of both,” he said, noting that FCC couldn’t make change on its own.
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“If user fees come about, it will only be because Congress thinks they are a good idea,” he said. Bureau also is interested in previous suggestion by LMCC on audit of all private land mobile licensees to uncover pockets of unused spectrum. “That is no small task when we consider that we have in the neighborhood of a quarter of a million licenses out there,” Sugrue said. In some cases, licenses may be lying fallow because original licensee went out of business, but in past LMCC has sought way to audit which licenses are in active use. Industry has argued that audit of private wireless licensee data base is needed to help quantify levels of unused spectrum. “We are very interested in pursuing this issue and in working with the land mobile community” to see how audit could be undertaken, he said. Elsewhere, Commission is weighing proposals that have come in as part of comments on 27 MHz notice of proposed rulemaking that would allocate to nongovt. uses parts of spectrum released by federal govt. scattered between 216 MHz and 2390 MHz. Proposals received to date range from using parts of spectrum for Little LEO (low-earth orbiting satellite) feeder links to LMCC’s proposal to allocate 10 MHz for new land mobile communications service, he said. Report and order on allocation issue is expected out in next several months.
On secondary spectrum notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that had been of particular interest to then Chmn. William Kennard, Sugrue said there still was interest under Chmn. Powell- led Commission to examine issue. Commission adopted NPRM last year that sought comment on issues such as to how alter regulatory barriers that barred carriers from signing leases for licensed areas, despite pressing spectrum needs (CD Nov 13 p1). “The chairman is very interested in that proceeding,” Sugrue said. “It fits very well with the types of reforms he would like to see.” Sugrue said he expected item to move ahead in fall. Proposal endorses using guard band manager concept in future that was part of last year’s 700 MHz auction. “There may even be some sense to go a little further and build on that, but I'm not sure where it will go,” Sugrue said.
In other areas, Sugrue said bureau planned to hold frequency coordinators summit, similar to one last year, around mid-June. Issues that came up then included universal licensing system deployment and unused spectrum.