Satellite Sector Showing Some Enthusiasm for 12.7 and 42 GHz Bands
While the FCC saw lukewarm interest from terrestrial wireless players in greater access to the 42-42.5 GHz band (see 22308310053), the agency might find more enthusiasm from satellite interests, satellite spectrum experts tell us. The agency's May 22 meeting agenda will see it voting on a Further NPRM that proposes allowing more intensive satcom use of the 12.7 and 42 GHz bands, either as an alternative or complement to terrestrial wireless (see 2505010037). Some satellite operators are pushing the FCC to broaden the discussion to include the 51.4-52.4 GHz band.
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Mobile network operators don't see an equipment ecosystem that supports use of the 42 GHz band, and they already have plenty of millimeter-wave spectrum, said Frank Rayal, co-founder of telecom advisory firm Xona Partners. The band's propagation characteristics also hamper its use for terrestrial, he said. SpaceX could be interested in 42 GHz for more capacity, he said. The spectrum also could be useful for intersatellite links, he said. Satellite operators are steadily going up the spectrum band as capacity needs increase, and one challenge is that the band would require increased power for propagation through the atmosphere and could be affected by rain, he said.
Any changes to authorized use of the 12.7 and 42 GHz bands might raise radio astronomy concerns, said spectrum consultant Rick Reaser. In the U.S., a NASA receive-only earth station uses 12.75-13.25 GHz in its deep space network. Users of 40-42.5 GHz are expected to protect adjacent-band radio astronomy operations.
Today, use of the 12.75-13.25 GHz band by geostationary orbit satellite operators is limited to communications between domestic and international points, while non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) fixed satellite service (FSS) operations are limited to uplinks with individually licensed earth stations, according to the draft NPRM. In addition to looking beyond those limited operations, the draft sought feedback on an FSS allocation in the 42 GHz band.
Opening up both bands would be "an important first step to help alleviate some of the strain in workhorse [FSS] bands and would give operators access to larger, unencumbered swaths of spectrum," representatives of Amazon's Kuiper told staffers for FCC Chairman Brendan Carr and Commissioners Nathan Simington and Anna Gomez. In a docket 22-352 filing this week, Kuiper said the agency should go further and allow NGSO FSS operations in the 51.4-52.4 GHz bands. It said the same arguments apply as those for 12.7 and 42 GHz FSS services: Satellite operators need the spectrum, the band is already used for satellite series, and deploying satellite services in the band would simplify coexistence with adjacent band incumbents.
Also backing the draft FNPRM, SpaceX said it urged in a meeting with Carr's office the addition of an NGSO FSS downlink allocation for the 12.7-13.25 GHz band. It said the FCC should make clear that advocates for high-powered fixed wireless in the 12 GHz band haven't shown they can protect satellite operations from interference, and meanwhile the proposal has "cast dark clouds of uncertainty" over satellite broadband service. It called 51.4-52.4 GHz and 92.0-94.0 GHz, 94.1-100 GHz, 102.0-109.5 GHz, and 111.8-114.25 GHz "the most promising new bands for next-generation service" -- specifically for NGSO FSS uplinks.
Various satellite operators have argued for greater access to the 12.75-13.25 GHz band (see 2310260067).
The FNPRM also seeks input on lifting a 30-month-old freeze on new satellite and earth station applications in the 12.7 GHz band. The FCC should lift the freeze now, the Satellite Industry Association said Thursday in docket 22-352. That freeze came when the agency was considering expanded use of the band for mobile (see 2209190061). Now that the agency is considering more intensive use of the band by satellite, that freeze is no longer justified, SIA said.