6 GHz Incumbents Lay Out Principles for Multistakeholder Group
APCO, the Utilities Technology Council, the Edison Electric Institute and other 6 GHz incumbents offered baseline principles for the multistakeholder group that will oversee interference issues in the band, in a filing posted Monday in docket 18-295. FCC commissioners approved…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
the 6 GHz order 5-0 in April despite incumbent concerns (see 2004230059). “Even having declined to establish rules on these significant issues, however, the FCC has an important role to play,” the filing said. The group should focus on low-power indoor device testing, in addition to automated frequency coordination (AFC), they said: “The goal should be to prevent interference from occurring, rather than reducing the occurrence of interference to some arbitrary level and remedying instances of interference after the fact through laborious, time-consuming, and expensive methods.” They asked for a focus on “the accuracy of the underlying data and the protocols for AFC, including security protocols.” The multistakeholder group's recommendations “should become binding and enforceable,” the incumbents said. It's activities and decisions “should be transparent and consensus-driven. Meetings should be scheduled in advance and conducted openly with an agenda and minutes that list the participants and describe the issues to be addressed and the decisions that were reached during the meetings.” Others signing included the American Public Power Association and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.