NTIA to Use DFS for 5 GHz Spectrum in Field Trials
ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- NTIA will oversee testing this month that will help bring online 255 more MHz of spectrum in the 5.470-5.725 GHz band for unlicensed use via dynamic frequency selection (DFS), NTIA Dir. Michael Gallagher told the Defense Spectrum Summit, which started here Mon.
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At 2004’s spectrum summit, then-FCC Office of Engineering & Technology Chief Ed Thomas warned of interference use of the spectrum was causing for sensitive DoD spectrum. Gallagher said those issues largely have been resolved. DFS field tests will be run in Tex. late Nov. and early Dec., he said. “We have these radars, the ones that are of concern, with the devices,” he said. “We will test and make sure that the devices perform not just in the lab, but in the field. In the lab several of the technologies worked. We're very encouraged by what we see.”
Gallagher told reporters getting the 5 GHz spectrum online will be significant given the need for more-robust wireless broadband. “It provides more capacity and more channels to handle the increased data flow,” he said. “When Airgo can do 240 Mbps over a Wi-Fi chip, when you have large video files being transferred between users… that’s the type of capacity that’s going to be needed to meet the growth expectations moving forward.”
Also at the summit Mon., John Kneuer, NTIA deputy dir., said a Policy & Planning Steering Committee being set up by the Administration will help with spectrum turf wars. “It will help us resolve difficult issues,” he said. “Having high-level leadership make those decisions the decisions get made rather than just being pushed off through process after process after process.”
Badri Younes, DoD dir. spectrum management, said more cooperation is needed between the govt. and other users of the radio spectrum. “Awareness is key, strategic planning also another key,” Younes said. “You have to combine the 2… Awareness is getting the policy people, the technology people, the user community, the regulators, everybody together, so everybody is aware of the issues and the complexity of managing this asset.” Younes said that while DoD is open-minded on spectrum issues, spectrum plays an increasingly significant role in warfare. “The Dept. of Defense is keen on assuring that information gets to the end-user, to the warfighter,” he said. “Information technology has been a force enabler and multiplier. We have been able to achieve a lot more with fewer troops on the ground.”