FCC Proposes More Flexible Use Of ‘White Spaces’ In 900 MHz Band
The FCC at its meeting Thurs. proposed to eliminate unnecessary regulatory restrictions in the 900 MHz spectrum band and allow more flexible use of “white spaces” there. Specifically, the FCC proposed to amend Part 90 of its rules to provide more flexible use of the 199 channels allocated to the business and industrial land transportation (BILT) pools in the 896-901/935-940 MHz. “We believe that these unused spectrum and channels can and should be auctioned to the carriers that can put them to the highest-valued use,” said FCC Wireless Bureau Mobility Div. Attorney Advisor Michael Connelly in presenting the item.
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The Commission said the 900 MHz item built on the flexibility afforded private land mobile radio service licenses holders in the 900 MHz band when the agency consolidated the BILT license categories, which allowed more 900 MHz licenses to be used for commercial services.
The Commission also concluded that because of the significant changes it proposed in the NPRM, the current freeze on the processing of new 900 MHz license applications should be kept. But it said it would consider case by case requests for waiver of the freeze. Incumbents will continue to be allowed to file modification applications, it said.
“This is really an incentives-based flexible regime that the Bureau has been promoting for 2 years and this is just a continuation,” Wireless Bureau Chief John Muleta told reporters after the meeting. For example, he said there were “quite a lot of unused spaces in the 900 MHz band,” especially in rural areas: “What our rules are trying to do is to create incentives… to enable people to use those unused spaces and actually provide service that is valuable to consumers.” The FCC said consistent with the Commission’s Spectrum Policy Task Force recommendations, the proposal would give new license holders in the 900 MHz band the flexibility to provide any fixed or mobile service pursuant to the allocation for this spectrum, which includes CMRS.
The FCC proposed to require new 900 MHz licensees to provide “at least the same interference protection to incumbent 900 MHz BILT licensees as is provided to incumbents by 900 MHz specialized mobile radio SMR licensees.” Asked how the Commission would ensure licensees wouldn’t face the same interference problems that required the remedies adopted in the 800 MHz interference proceeding, Muleta said: “The easy answer is that we are seeking comment on what sort of the level of protection we need.” The Commission asked for comments on whether additional interference protection requirements were necessary and if so, what they should be.
Muleta said the “big difference” between this and the 800 MHz order was that the 900 MHz proposal “allows for geographic licenses.” The Commission proposed in the item that the available spectrum in the 900 MHz band would be licensed using a geographic licensing scheme. It proposed to license the channels in 19 blocks of 10 contiguous channels each, and one block of 9 contiguous channels. “We believe the proposed configuration can provide operational flexibility and efficiency by allowing the providers to use new technologies and compete effectively with other commercial providers,” Connelly said.
The FCC said its proposal also addressed several licensing, operational and technical issues, such as the appropriate band plan, the rights and obligations of incumbent site-based licensees, and competitive bidding procedures for new licenses in the 900 MHz band. “We believe out proposal will allow for wide-area coverage, increase spectrum efficiency and provide better quality service to end-users,” Connelly said.
Comr. Adelstein encouraged commenters to address license area proposals: “I tend to believe that we would be better served with smaller areas, but I am interested to hear voices on both sides of the issue.” On the performance requirement section of the item, he said: “I truly believe that we need to explore shorter construction periods… The Communications industry is so dynamic that it just seems outdated to have a constriction period last longer than 5 years.”