FCC tentatively expects to release long-awaited notice of propose...

National Spectrum Managers Assn. conference in Arlington, Va. Bands expected to be covered by upper millimeter wave NPRM include fixed point-to-point operations at 71-76 GHz, 81-86 GHz and 92-95 GHz, said John Lovberg, chief technology officer of Loea Communications. NPRM stems from petition for rulemaking filed by Loea, which sought service rules for 71-76 MHz and 81-86 MHz. Loea said rulemaking would allow rollout of gigabit-per-sec. broadband capacity with fixed wireless applications in areas where fiber capacity can’t reach. Creating rules for this spectrum on unlicensed basis is one possible alternative, Marcus said. Potential for narrow beams in this spectrum is one factor that may point toward unlicensed regulatory scheme for these upper frequencies, Marcus said. Another option is take large geographic area, of up to several hundred square miles, and auction it off, he said. “No one outside the FCC likes this,” Marcus acknowledged. One potential benefit of this type of plan is for rapid development of technology because licensee who controls area “can decide what the rules are,” he said. Otherwise, “when technology changes, changing the rules is difficult,” Marcus said. This would address “major technical problem” of trying to regulate technology that moves in Internet time with regulatory processes that move in “Administrative Procedures Act time,” he said. Third option would be that if FCC makes upper millimeter wave spectrum available, it should license spectrum on traditional Part 101 basis, he said. “That certainly is an option,” he said. “It’s not very popular with the FCC at the moment, but it certainly is an option.” NPRM will include proposal for one of these options but won’t rule out other 2, Marcus said. Loea’s Lovberg said company has recommended that Commission enact Part 101 provisions for fixed point-to-point licensing as opposed to unlicensed. “People who use this for very high data rate back-haul connections really want to know that they're protected,” he said. Loea also proposed 3rd-party registration system, rather than band manager, to keep track of where systems are deployed, he said. Company also has sought geographic area based licenses that would be provided on first-come, first served basis, he said.