U.S. Record ‘Mixed’ on Spectrum Harmonization, Knapp Says
International harmonization of spectrum is critical, but difficult to achieve, and the U.S. so far has only a “mixed record” aligning its allocations with those in the rest of the world, said FCC Office of Engineering and Technology Chief Julius Knapp Wednesday in a keynote speech at The Americas Spectrum Management Conference. Knapp cited in particular spectrum allocated to PCS, a different use than in most of the world. Knapp also said the outlook for widespread use of TV white spaces spectrum remains positive.
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"Harmonization of spectrum bands is clearly desirable” and reduces the cost and complexity of devices, Knapp said. “It’s astounding to think that we have got more than 40 band classes of devices now,” he said. “If you're a manufacturer you're challenged to figure how you're going to pack as much of that into a single device as you possibly can."
Most spectrum already contains legacy systems, “not only here in the United States but across the rest of the world,” Knapp said. “Replacement spectrum for those services, in other words, a spot to move them to, may not always be available or so clear cut, and the transition … can take time and be costly.” The U.S. should try to harmonize how it uses spectrum with other nations where possible, he said. “It’s something that I think that’s an important element as we consider spectrum allocations,” he said. “It’s also something that’s weighed against many of the other elements that come into play."
The FCC is making progress on opening the TV white spaces for unlicensed use, Knapp said. Equipment makers are coming forward to seek certification for white spaces devices, he confirmed. For competitiveness reasons, the FCC does not provide information on devices until they are certified, he said. “What I can assure is there are people who are moving forward through the certification process,” he said. “We live in a very fast-paced society and we expect things to happen overnight. It takes time, once rules are finalized, to go back and design and build and test and then fabricate the integrated circuits.”
A 45-day public trial of Spectrum Bridge’s TV band database shows that the system, devised by the FCC for avoiding interference to TV broadcasts, wireless microphone users, and other incumbents, works, Knapp indicated. The test is important, he said. “We want to make sure … that we have got all of the bugs hammered out,” he said. “Things have been going very well. There have been few issues as we've gone through it. Whatever has come up has been resolved fairly quickly.”
Knapp said how the TV white spaces will be used remains to be seen. “We're envisioning it won’t only be necessarily [just] for super Wi-Fi, but it’s an opportunity for innovation to create new products,” he said. He said the FCC did not fully anticipate the importance of Wi-Fi when it reallocated spectrum for unlicensed use in the 1980s. “At the time, we certainly knew that it was creating an opportunity for new services,” he said. “I would argue that we would have been particularly prescient had we known that Wi-Fi would emerge … and it would become so prevalent today."
In a second keynote address, Mike Byrne, an Irish regulator and chairman of the European Commission’s Radio Spectrum Policy Group, also underscored the importance of spectrum harmonization. “There are many efficiencies to be gained through increased cooperation between our two regions, not least of which is the interoperability of spectrum-dependent systems, particularly in instances of global or wide-scale disaster relief where responses and coordination of relief efforts and emergency services is crucial and response times are critical,” Byrne said. “It makes sense that on this basis alone, that of the protection of life, we should cooperate effectively with one another to develop globally harmonized solutions.”
"We live in a hemisphere that is far from homogenous, but is increasingly interdependent,” said Clovis Baptista, executive secretary of the Inter-American Telecommunications Commission (CITEL), who also spoke at the conference. “These are realities we have to … translate into all our activities.” Harmonization leads to “economy of scale” for devices and international roaming “in a way that encourages new technologies without jeopardizing legacy investments,” he said.