AT&T and the Utilities Telecom Council endorsed a Fixed Wireless Communications Coalition request that the FCC authorize 30 MHz channels in the 6525 to 6875 MHz band. That would make the lower 6 GHz band more useful to industry, the groups said. FCC rules authorize 30 MHz channels in the lower 6 GHz band, but only 10 MHz channels in the upper band. “Commenters agree that the current 10 MHz bandwidth limit for fixed microwave services in the Upper 6 GHz band no longer meets the rapidly increasing needs for high capacity fixed microwave links for the provision of advanced broadband services,” AT&T said. UTC said that “such a rule change will help to maintain the safety and reliability of essential public services, including electricity, gas and water, by enabling many utilities to manage larger amounts of data across their Fixed Service-based control networks.”
The FCC was expected at our deadline to approve an order giving Sprint Nextel until March 5, 2009, to clear broadcast auxiliary service from spectrum that mobile satellite service operators want. After obtaining several delays, Sprint faced a Wednesday deadline for finishing that process. But the commission gave the carrier another year rather than vote an additional short delay.
A European Commission plan for picking and authorizing mobile satellite service providers is set for a Thursday vote in the European Parliament’s Industry, Research and Energy Committee. The February 2007 proposal suggested a harmonized approach to use of the 2 GHz frequency band for MSS but didn’t specify how operators would be chosen and authorized, a draft report by U.K. MEP Fiona Hall said. If approved by the parliament and the Council of Ministers, the plan could spur rollout of mobile Internet services across Europe.
LOS ANGELES -- Facing record jumps in bandwidth demand by subscribers and competitive pressures from telecom carriers and satellite providers, cable operators are chasing a variety of technological fixes to expand capacity and keep pace.
LAS VEGAS -- Ultra-wideband won’t have a break through year in 2008, but gear with UWB chipsets finally is hitting store shelves, executives said at last week’s Consumer Electronics Show. UWB equipment was displayed on the CES show floor in clusters of booths under the WiMedia Alliance and elsewhere in stand-alone displays by larger Alliance members. But UWB’s breakthrough may not come until 2009 or 2010, industry officials said. Denizens of WiMedia booths told us they sense disappointment among some at CES about the number of products expected for the 2008 holiday buying season.
GENEVA -- New proposals on identification of UHF and C- band frequencies for International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) were floated Wednesday, as officials seek consensus on harmonized frequencies before a Thursday deadline. Talks over both bands in Europe, Africa and Asia are in flux and serious obstacles remain, a WRC participant from industry said. Fifty-seven European, Asian, African and Arab countries are on tentative lists of countries that may use 3,400 to 3,600 MHz for IMT, according to a draft document. The list is incomplete, according to the document.
The Fixed Wireless Communications Coalition (FWCC) asked the FCC to issue a rulemaking that would make two channel pairs available to fixed wireless users in the 23 GHz band. The group noted in its petition for rulemaking the FCC would only be implementing a recommendation of NTIA. FWCC said since the proposal “will not disadvantage any party” the FCC should bypass seeking comments on its petition and go directly to release of a notice of proposed rulemaking on its own motion.
GENEVA - Countries in the Americas have united on frequencies for International Mobile Telecommunications, but significant obstacles remain before global consensus is reached. A new CITEL (Inter-American Telecommunication Commission) proposal groups the remaining proposed frequencies for IMT in a package, said Richard Russell, U.S. ambassador to the WRC. “There is no question that the final resolution … is going to be a package,” he said. IMT is the ITU global standard for advanced mobile wireless communications.
GENEVA -- Early consensus is emerging at the World Radiocommunication Conference to pull three of seven bands from consideration for next-generation wireless, officials said Thursday. But tough talks lie ahead. Conflict is rising over protecting HF and C-band frequencies seeing military use, and active and passive space services are a high priority, officials said.
The Wireless Communications Association asked the FCC to schedule a re-auction of 77 broadband radio service (BRS) licenses forfeited after being issued by the agency in 1996. The move will “promote the deployment of advanced wireless broadband service to the public, particularly in the rural and underserved areas where many of these licenses are concentrated,” WCA said. “Moreover, new empirical evidence establishes that prompt re-auctioning these licenses will facilitate rapid transition of the 2.5 GHz band to the new bandplan adopted by the Commission in 2004 and promote the earliest possible deployment of wireless broadband services to Americans who reside within these BTAs.” The FCC sold licenses covering 493 basic trading areas (BTAs) in Auction No. 6, which closed in March of 1996. Authorizations were issued for all, but lost by 77 licensees who failed to pay. The FCC previously decided to delay the reauction until the completion of the BRS transition, or as late as April 2011. “WCA appreciates the benefit of providing auction participants with reasonable certainty as to what spectrum is available,” the group said. “However, that certainty would be provided by re-auctioning the 77 BRS BTA authorizations now. Reasonable auction participants will understand that, to the extent a BTA is not already undergoing transition at the time of the auction, the winning BRS BTA auction winner may have to act as the transition proponent pursuant to… the Commission’s rules to avoid losing its newly won license at the conclusion of the transition process.”