NTIA Says Reallocation of 1755-1850 MHz Band Possible, But Not Cheap

"There’s nothing in our report that would prevent phasing in the reallocation of this band,” NTIA Administrator Larry Strickling told reporters Tuesday. “It might be possible to proceed first with the bottom 25 MHz and then follow on with the rest of the band.” But Strickling said a review of 1755-1780 MHz requires a broader overview of the entire 95 MHz band.

Federal users of the band are gun shy because of their experiences when they relocated from the AWS-1 band, sold by the FCC in a 2006 auction, Strickling said. “The one thing we wanted to avoid and the one thing the agencies wanted to avoid, above all else, is what happened to them as a result of the 1710-1755 MHz band” reallocation, he said. “They were basically squeezed out of that band, many of then relocated ... into this very band, the 1755 band.” Government agencies “were given some levels of assurances 10 years ago that people wouldn’t come calling for that additional spectrum,” he said. “They've seen that movie now. They understand how it turns out."

A federal advisory committee will now have to engage in discussions about clearing the band. “We'd like to see them get started promptly,” Strickling said. “I'm not going to predict how long the discussions would take.” Some systems will be much more expensive than others to move. Moving point-to-point microwave systems is relatively easy, Strickling said. “We know how to do it. We know where they can go.” Larger systems like the air combat training system are more problematic, Strickling said. “You're dealing with transmitters that are literally embedded in the skin of the aircraft,” he said. “If you're talking about moving that that’s going to be quite an effort.” Moving that system by itself would cost nearly $5 billion, he said.

Strickling and the report also emphasize that sharing will play a big role, both long term and as some bands are being cleared. Spectrum sharing has been a key focus of recent discussions at the Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee (CD March 2 p2). Spectrum sharing “will be and must be a vital component to satisfying the growing demand for spectrum,” Strickling said. “Federal and non-federal users will need to adopt innovative spectrum sharing techniques to meet this demand.”

More than 20 federal agencies make use of more than 3,100 individual frequency assignments in the broader band, the report said. “In turn, there simply are few bands to consider for repurposing and few comparable bands to which federal agencies can relocate their operations.”

The report offers basic information on how the band is used by various federal systems and how long they might take to move (http://xrl.us/bmzmsz). The departments of Homeland Security, Justice and the Treasury all use spectrum in the 1780-1850 MHz band for surveillance and say they will need at least 30 MHz “pending the successful development of new technology and the availability of spectrum in ... comparable bands,” the report said. Moving military tactical radio relay and precision-guided munitions systems from the band in 10 years is possible, the Defense Department said. But moving its space ground link subsystem within 10 years “would leave mission critical national security spacecraft without a means of control.” Costs are all over the board. The surveillance systems would cost more than $5 billion to move, the most expensive line item. The cheapest, military tactical radio relay, came in at $160 million to relocate.

"We waited two years and not one MHz was freed up for mobile broadband today,” said an FCC official who viewed the report as not going far enough and offering an unrealistically high price tag for moving federal users. The report “contains important uncertainties (particularly on timing of clearing gov’t users and the need for spectrum sharing),” wrote Paul Gallant, an analyst at Guggenheim Securities.

"We're happy it’s out,” said CTIA Vice President Chris Guttman-McCabe. “Clearly there’s been a lot of hard work done by NTIA and the team over there. We're happy they believe they can bring 95 MHz to market.” Guttman-McCabe said he has concerns about the emphasis on sharing. “We hope in the long run the balance is towards clearing,” he said. “We want to make sure that the default isn’t sharing.” Carriers recognize they may have to share some of the spectrum, but LightSquared taught a key lesson, Guttman-McCabe said. “You have to make sure you know what you're sharing with."

Despite the many questions left unanswered Tuesday, most reaction from industry and the Hill was positive. “While the report appropriately indicates that there will be hurdles and limitations in repurposing the 1755-1850 MHz band for commercial use, its focus on achieving that objective is very encouraging,” said Verizon Senior Vice President Tom Tauke. “NTIA’s conclusion that repurposing this important band quickly and cost-effectively requires reliance on both relocation and spectrum sharing, and represents an exciting path forward for all wireless broadband carriers,” said House Communications Subcommittee Ranking Member Anna Eshoo, D-Calif.

"By focusing on spectrum sharing, NTIA is taking a necessary and forward-looking approach,” said Dale Hatfield, former acting NTIA administrator and FCC chief engineer. “If we are going to have any realistic chance of meeting the exploding demands for spectrum, we -- as a nation -- have no choice but to increase the sharing of this precious resource.” FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski also emphasized the importance of sharing. “The report acknowledges that commercial systems may share the band with federal incumbents for several years,” he said. “Such sharing over a longer period of time should be pursued as an alternative to a costly, complex, and disruptive relocation effort.”