FCC Comr. Martin, speaking at FCBA spectrum policy forum late Tue...

encourage, and even insist on, more efficient use of current spectrum, particularly through sharing,” Martin said. Historic regulatory process in which FCC sets rules for spectrum sharing through making allocations, setting interference parameters “and then acting as the referee” can create disincentives for sharing, Martin said. Citing pending FCC proposal designed to facilitate secondary market for spectrum, he said agency should move toward such policies that make spectrum sharing easier and “create strong incentives for making use of excess capacity.” Another example he cited was flexible allocations that were technology and service neutral. “Allowing priority access permits flexibility for a higher valued use some of the time, without having to dedicate specific frequencies to those uses all of the time,” Martin said. Citing newly-formed FCC task force on spectrum management, Julius Knapp, deputy chief of Office of Engineering & Technology, said “there’s going to be a lot of activity on re-examining spectrum management, spectrum allocation.” One question FCC increasingly faces on spectrum management is how to measure efficient use, he said, saying one benchmark was bits per Hz. “How do I measure efficiency over a wide area?” he asked. Agency also must take into account economics, such as whether system configuration that gets efficient bits per Hz is feasible to build in first place, he said. Several panelists said key spectrum challenge for FCC was that historical spectrum allocations didn’t necessarily match with how frequencies were used now in market. Stagg Newman, senior telecom practice expert with McKinsey & Co., said: “We have allocated use of spectrum in ways that are not consistent with the uses and the market needs today.” He advocated giving public safety systems priority in existing spectrum when needed in emergencies, “but don’t set aside large blocks of spectrum that may not be well-utilized.” As for 802.11 wireless networking systems, Proxim Chief Technology Officer Kevin Negus said 5 GHz products would dominate usage for high data rate systems in that space in next several years. “The big public policy challenge” for FCC will be rules of engagement between primary or legacy users of spectrum and secondary users such as wireless LANs, he said. “This is going to be a huge challenge, but it’s also going to be a huge opportunity,” Negus said. Several panelists said FCC had been moving toward more flexible spectrum management schemes in areas such as ultra-wideband, software defined radio, secondary markets proceeding, flexible spectrum allocations. Charles Jackson, communications consultant for JTC, said that among engineering and policy issues that FCC faced were questions such as whether it should mandate rule for how wireless LAN listened to channel before it started transmitting.