FCC Proposal for Wi-FI in 5 GHz Band Raising Auto Industry Concerns

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski announced the Wi-Fi initiative last week at CES, though with few details other than the spectrum would be in the 5 GHz band (http://xrl.us/bn953e) and was part of a “government-wide effort to increase speeds and alleviate Wi-Fi congestion at major hubs, such as airports, convention centers and large conference gatherings.”

Industry officials said this week that, in proposing what is expected to be a notice of proposed rulemaking, Genachowski went beyond what was mandated by Congress a year ago in the February spectrum law. One part of the legislation required the FCC to “begin a proceeding” within a year looking at the use of unlicensed devices in just the 5350-5470 MHz band. The FCC is to allow secondary use of the band by unlicensed devices only if it determines, in consultation with NTIA, that “licensed users will be protected by technical solutions, including use of existing, modified, or new spectrum-sharing technologies and solutions, such as dynamic frequency selection” and that “the primary mission of Federal spectrum users in the 5350-5470 MHz band will not be compromised by the introduction of unlicensed devices."

Congress also mandated two studies by NTIA of the 5350-5470 MHz band, which was supposed to have been completed in October, and of the 5850-5925 MHz band, due in August. NTIA mentions the studies in its “Third Interim Progress Report on the Ten-Year Plan and Timetable” (http://xrl.us/bn34ef) but does not report on any conclusions. “This does not mean that NTIA has determined that either band should be available for unlicensed use,” an NTIA spokeswoman said this week.

The law does not prohibit the FCC from initiating its inquiry before NTIA finishes its work, an agency official said Tuesday. Genachowski views making more spectrum available as “a critical priority” but the FCC plans to coordinate closely with federal users and other federal agencies, the official said.

An industry official said the FCC likely has been given some indication by NTIA on what it’s likely to conclude on the 5 GHz bands, or Genachowski wouldn’t have made an announcement at CES last week. “I expect the FCC has already seen that report or a draft of it,” said an industry lawyer who represents carrier and other clients. The commission “wouldn’t put NTIA into an embarrassing situation,” the lawyer said.

The Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America), which has already been allocated use of the 5850-5925 MHz band for a Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) backbone, released a statement raising an early red flag. “We recognize that sharing within the 5.9 GHz band should be explored,” said ITS America President Scott Belcher (http://xrl.us/boaxuk). “However, policymakers should be mindful not to fast track a decision without a complete record and fair opportunity for all affected parties to participate in the process, particularly when life-saving vehicle technologies are on the line."

ITS America also released a letter the group sent to NTIA as it explores further unlicensed use of the 5.9 GHz band. “DSRC has the potential to reduce collisions by enabling the following safety applications: lane departure and forward collision warnings; sudden braking ahead warnings; do not pass warnings; intersection collision avoidance systems; bicycle and pedestrian warning systems; emergency vehicle signal priority and approaching emergency vehicle warnings; commercial vehicle safety inspections; in-vehicle signing; rollover warnings; traffic and travel condition data; and other safety applications,” the group said (http://xrl.us/boaxut). “All of these require secure, high-frequency, low latency wireless interface dependability free from harmful interference.”

The U.S. Department of Transportation launched a multi-year “Safety Pilot” in Ann Arbor, Mich., starting in August, to test the technology, ITS America noted. “Approximately 3,000 vehicles -- cars, light trucks, transit and commercial vehicles -- are being outfitted with DSRC radio devices,” it said. “The collected information will be used by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to determine in 2013 whether to proceed with a rulemaking to require or encourage DSRC-enabled safety technologies on new light-duty vehicles, and in 2014 on new heavy-duty vehicles.”

"Some folks, particularly those who oppose unlicensed in incentive auction guard bands and oppose federal sharing generally, are already counting this spectrum as if the FCC already opened it up for Wi-Fi use,” said Public Knowledge Senior Vice President Harold Feld via e-mail Tuesday. “They haven’t. There are several hoops to jump through before anyone gets to make Wi-Fi chips for this space. First, the federal government has to actually approve any sharing rules. Then you have other parties competing for the same spectrum. ... On the whole, I think that the Commission has recognized that there is significant value in Wi-Fi and that growing congestion in existing open spectrum suitable for Wi-Fi is as much a problem as congestion on licensed cellular networks. Wi-Fi has become utterly ubiquitous, with a range of industrial uses that go well beyond merely extending wireline broadband to laptops and tablets. The Commission recognizes that doing something to improve Wi-Fi capacity has become politically smart (if done in bands no one else wants). All that said, however, it is hard to know how hard the Commission will push in the face of significant resistance from federal users.” Feld said he’s less concerned about the ITS America objections: “The Commission has generally given up on assigning specific bands for specific services."

"Freeing additional spectrum for unlicensed use is a priority because opening up this public resource will drive innovation and economic growth, as it always does,” said Free Press Policy Director Matt Wood. “The chairman’s announcement at CES last week got it right. Allocating more open spectrum in the 5 GHz band would allow for improved Wi-Fi coverage and capacity at large venues; but keeping open spectrum in lower bands after the incentive auction remains as necessary as ever to spur next generation deployments and uses. Clearing or sharing the 5 GHz bands in the upcoming proceeding will take time and coordination, though, and it’s obviously not a done deal. That’s yet another reason not to lessen the emphasis on opening spectrum in lower bands, based either on a false sense of security or false choice between 5 GHz and the current TV bands."

The new Wi-Fi standard, 802.11ac, “needs larger channels to operate at top speed, so more unlicensed spectrum will become important to its adoption by home and office networks,” said Richard Bennett, senior fellow at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation. “The FCC is taking the necessary steps to clear the spectrum above 3 GHz of exclusive use by non-government applications, a necessary step as they seek to create more rational spectrum policy that permits multiple applications to share the unlicensed space as they currently share the licensed space. Incumbent users accustomed to the old status quo where every application got its own spectrum assignment are complaining, so the FCC’s challenge is to craft a regulatory solution that satisfies all legitimate interests.”