FCC Gets Requests for Multiple Routes for 4.9 GHz Access

A dynamic spectrum access model, overseen by a band manager, would be more efficient and cheaper than requiring negotiation of "complex and expensive lease arrangements, possibly with multiple public safety agencies with overlapping jurisdictions," the Wireless ISP Association said. Instead of leasing the spectrum to nonpublic safety operators, band manager could grant them nonexclusive, secondary right of access, subject to preemption rights for public safety licensees over nonpublic safety users. Rather than have a band manager be the only one that can sublease or leave 4.9 GHz band spectrum rights to nonpublic safety entities, all public safety licensees should be allowed to take part in spectrum leasing, which would better consider local needs, Motorola said.

Deterministic access can help ensure nonpublic safety users don't face too-high barriers to operating in the band, which would disincentivize their investments there, said Federated Wireless. Any public safety preemption of nonpublic safety users "must be narrowly tailored" to preempt only in the event of life-threatening or national emergencies or when permitted to do so by order of the president or other designated federal entity, it said.

A coalition of public safety, business and critical infrastructure (CI) stakeholders said Thursday that, alongside a traditional licensing and coordination model for the band, there should be nonpublic safety, noncommercial licensing for unassigned spectrum. They also opposed access to the band by commercial carriers. Leasing subject to public safety priority and preemption rights isn't likely to attract commercial provider usage because their subscribers expect reliable connectively on demand, they said. "This raises the serious question of whether any commercial operation would invest in equipment, deployment, and maintenance of a system to which access could be denied with minimal advance notice and for an unknown amount of time," they said. Signatories were the American Petroleum Institute, Enterprise Wireless Alliance, Forestry Conservation Communications Association, International Municipal Signal Association, National Sheriffs’ Association and Utilities Technology Council (UTC).

As a way of incentivizing investment in and more intensive use of the band by utilities and other CI industries, the FCC should allow nonpublic safety to apply for licenses in areas where there are no incumbent public safety licensees, so utilities and public safety can jointly develop prioritization and preemption arrangements, UTC said. Any band manager selection committee should have at least one CI industries representative, it said.

Any band manager for the 4.9 GHz band should prioritize eliminating opportunities for there to be a financial incentive to infringe on public safety use and prioritize public safety use of the band even when it complicates lease negotiations or requires leases to modify non-public safety use, APCO International said. It said the agency also should look at alternative leasing models that would simplify leasing while protecting public safety.

Noting the need for protected spectrum to allow first responders to communicate directly with other public safety personnel and the public when mobile networks aren't available, Qualcomm said the 4.9 GHz band would be "a perfect home" for such interoperable, device-to-device wireless "sidelink" technology. It said the band could support public safety sidelink communications on a priority basis, while allowing secondary, nonpublic safety operations.