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Power, Emission Limits for 3.5 GHz Band Will Severely Limit Deployment, Many Companies Say

The power and out-of-band emissions limits in FCC rules for the 3.5 GHz shared spectrum band are a nonstarter, representatives of the Wireless Innovation Forum’s Spectrum Sharing Committee told officials of the Office of Engineering and Technology in a meeting,…

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said a filing posted Monday in docket 12-354. A wide group of industry companies was represented, including Alcatel-Lucent, AT&T, Federated Wireless, Google, Motorola Solutions, Nokia Networks, Qualcomm and Verizon. Among the FCC officials at the meeting was OET Chief Julius Knapp. Achieving the power and emissions limits in the rules “will require so much power back off as to render the devices virtually unusable,” the filing said. “After additional review, the diverse set of organizations participating in this filing agree that the required measurement procedure is a major impediment to fulfilling the promise of Part 96.” The companies also said no other licensed mobile broadband service is subject to similar requirements and the rules “do not properly reflect the impact of aggregate interference.” It's likely other wideband systems, including Wi-Fi and WiMAX, will be unable to meet the emissions limits, the companies said. The commission approved creating the new Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) in the 3550-3700 MHz band at its April meeting, after years of debate (see 1504170055). CTIA earlier sought changes to the power and emissions limits in the rules (see 1510210020). The Satellite Industry Association opposed many of the changes sought by CTIA and others, saying they're an interference risk to fixed satellite service earth station use of the spectrum (see 1510200061).