Congress Needs to Safeguard High-Band Spectrum Eyed for 5G, ViaSat CEO Says
Congress needs to remind the FCC that satellite has a legitimate need for spectrum being eyed for 5G usage, particularly in the high frequency bands, ViaSat CEO Mark Dankberg said in an interview. Whether it will provide that kind of messaging is "a little bit of a black box," he said. Dankberg and executives at three other satellite operators testified last week before the Senate Commerce committee (see 1710250025). The FCC didn't comment Friday.
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Traditionally both satellite and terrestrial interests have opposed sharing, making policy decisions "about picking winners and losers," Dankberg said. But ViaSat has been pushing sharing in high frequency bands (see 1611010044), and policy decisions need to follow determinations of how such sharing can work, he said: "We don't have to rush head-on allocating spectrum willy nilly to 5G.” He also said he was "skeptical" of the business case of using high-band spectrum for indoor 5G networks, given that's an area already being filled by Wi-Fi. "It's a little difficult to compete" with consumers' use of Wi-Fi, he said.
ViaSat said latest proposed spectrum frontiers order released Friday (see 1710270030) "recognized the important role satellite broadband plays connecting critically-important applications."
Beyond the Ka- and V-bands, the S- and broadcast Ku-bands also could end up being the subject of similar tug of war between satellite and terrestrial wireless interests, Dankberg said: "Absolutely, it's fair to question whether or not any band of spectrum is being put to the greatest public use.” And that question needs to be asked of any satellite spectrum before an operator tries to sell its license for it, Dankberg said, pointing to the Intelsat/Intel proposal for clearing C-band (see 1710020047). "If you can't put it to good use, some other satellite operator may," and that step should be cleared before individual licensees broker rights for spectrum, he said. Dankberg also said he didn't expect the Intelsat/Intel proposal to garner notable satellite industry support.
Intelsat said with its C-band plan it "took the initiative to develop a market-based solution ... for joint-use of the 3700-4200 MHz C-band spectrum between terrestrial mobile and incumbent satellite operators" and that other satellites operators can present ideas to the FCC regarding spectrum use. "We are not abandoning C-band at all or 'brokering' spectrum deals [but] trying to find ways to accommodate the evolving telecommunications needs."
Dankberg said he sees some satellite operators increasingly providing end-user services instead of operating through telcos or wireless companies. “The opportunities in the [direct-to-consumer] video market are totally open and unbelievable,” he said.
The smallsat boom is "going to solve really interesting problems," but the geographic distribution of bandwidth is a sizable business challenge, Dankberg said. "I'd rather do what I'm doing" than move to a smallsat business model, he said. He also said ViaSat has talked to a variety of terrestrial networks as "potential partners" in a hybrid satellite/terrestrial network. Meanwhile, the growing boom in launcher reusability "is not game changing," since reliability is far more important, Dankberg said.
With satellite operators struggling with plunging data prices, "Welcome to the real world," Dankberg said. Citing increasing cable modem pricing as speeds ratchet up, he said, "there's a market for us" if satellite operators can similarly deliver higher speeds and more bandwidth.