Sub-Bands for Upper Spectrum Raising Wireless Concerns
The idea of dividing 47 GHz and 50 GHz bands into four sub-bands, championed by an array of satellite operators, will face wireless industry opposition, wireless officials told us. The sub-band proposal raises wireless red flags because such band segmentation would make it harder for the FCC to establish the contiguous blocks that would allow terrestrial 5G operations, they said.
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Satellite operators pushed for the sub-band approach as a route for 5G sharing between fixed satellite services and upper microwave flexible use (UMFUS) (see 1704130062 and 1704260034). The sub-band proposal is among multiple reconsideration motions brought by satellite interests (see 1612160019).
Wireless industry officials said the spectrum frontiers order wasn't quite what either the wireless industry or the satellite industry had wanted, but it reflects good balance with the compromises that were struck. The existing spectrum frontiers framework is the best route to enable 5G implementation, they said. They said that framework still lets satellite operators access the 47 GHz and 50 GHz spectrum under a variety of options -- such as buying it at auction or on the secondary market -- without the FCC dividing it in a way that could inhibit 5G services.
Wireless officials said there's trepidation about having service rules for UMFUS in the 50.4-51.4 GHz and 51.4-52.4 GHz bands that follow those used for general authorized access in the Citizens Broadband Radio Service. That approach is an experiment and hasn't been proven, they said, and there undoubtedly will be wireless pushback to the sub-band proposal.
Satellite operators continue to lobby the FCC on spectrum frontiers. Allowing terrestrial mobile service in the 29.1-29.25 GHz band "would be both unlawful and unwise," Iridium said in a filing Friday in docket 14-177 on meetings of Vice President-Public Policy Maureen McLaughlin with aides to Commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Mike O'Rielly. Allowing wireless access to the band on reconsideration would be a violation of rules and the Administrative Procedure Act, it said. It said there would be substantial difficulties in preventing harmful interference to Iridium and terrestrial operations in the band in case of co-frequency operations. It said even if that coexistence could work, the band "is too small and too isolated" to be of much use to terrestrial wireless. The one use case that was proposed -- one-way, unpaired supplemental downlinks -- "would be hopelessly inefficient," the firm said.
SES and O3b officials, in meetings with aides to Chairman Ajit Pai, discussed possible clarifications to the spectrum frontiers order, said an ex parte filing. The companies advocated the FCC clarify that additional antennas can be co-located with grandfathered antennas operating in the 27.5-28.35 GHz band and that it clarify how UMFUS spectrum could become available for licensing if it's not bought at auction or forfeited by a licensee.