Federal Spectrum Groups Asked to Develop Transition Plans for Two Spectrum Bands Sought by Carriers
"There’s a lot of work to be done and questions to be answered to ensure successful and timely transition to enable non-federal use” of the two bands, Strickling wrote. The two groups Strickling said he has asked to start planning for a possible auction are the federal Policy and Plans Steering Group, a high-level group created by the White House in 2010 to oversee spectrum, and the Interdepartment Radio Advisory Committee, made up of spectrum experts from the various federal departments and agencies.
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The 1755-1780 MHz band has long been a top target of carriers for reallocation for wireless broadband. The 1695-1710 MHz spectrum is part of the 1675-1710 MHz band, which provides weather satellite downlinks, and was the subject of a Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee working group, which looked at sharing in that band.
The FCC should “set forth the conditions under which sharing arrangements would be implemented by non-federal users while protecting federal operations,” Strickling wrote. “While we recognize that pairing and auctioning the 25 megahertz of spectrum in the 2155-2180 MHz band with the same amount in the 1755-1780 MHz band will be a primary option for the FCC and the commercial mobile wireless industry, we appreciate your recognition of the potential need to address rules to accommodate the phased reallocation of the entire 95 megahertz of the 1755-1850 MHz band."
Strickling warned that there are federal operations spread throughout the broader 1755-1850 MHz band. “If necessary, NTIA and the FCC must identify and reallocate replacement spectrum to accommodate displaced federal operations unless these agencies can maintain comparable capability of systems via sharing or utilizing alternate technology,” the letter said. Strickling noted a March 2012 Commerce Department report (http://1.usa.gov/YA2WR5) on 1755-1850 MHz “identified thousands of federal frequency assignments held by over 20 federal agencies for a wide range of mission-critical systems that will be impacted in a reallocation of the band.” The Department of Defense previously identified the 2025-2110 band as a preferred option to relocate most of its operations in the 1755-1850 band, he noted. NASA and DOD have identified 5150-5250 MHz as “a comparable destination band for its aeronautical mobile telemetry systems,” he said. Those recommendations are in the March 2012 report.
"I commend the FCC’s plans to begin auctions of the 1695-1710 MHz band and the 1755-1780 MHz band as early as September 2014,” Competitive Carriers Association Steve Berry responded to the NTIA letter. “And it is equally as important that NTIA and the FCC continue to cooperatively find solutions to challenges ahead. Auctioning this spectrum in the near-term is critically important to competitive carriers, as these carriers desperately need access to more usable spectrum.” Berry said one key message at CCA’s spring show, which ended Friday, was the need the group’s members had for additional “usable” spectrum. “This is a major issue for our members, and I cannot stress enough the need for the FCC and NTIA to work cooperatively, so every carrier can participate in future auctions that will benefit the competitive ecosystem and to stimulate economic growth,” he said. “I thank the FCC and NTIA for their work on freeing up additional commercial spectrum and look forward to our continued work to ensure competitive carriers have access to this much needed resource."
"CTIA is pleased that NTIA and the FCC are focusing on the reallocation of spectrum to commercial use, and continues to believe that the focus of NTIA’s efforts should be on the 1755 to 1780 MHz band,” said CTIA Vice President Chris Guttman-McCabe. “That band has a logical pairing, 2155 to 2180 MHz, that already has been identified for commercial use and targeted for auction in the recent spectrum legislation. The near-term pairing of the two 25 MHz bands will help to address the demand for spectrum that continues to grow as American consumers and businesses turn to wireless services for their broadband and business needs.”