V-Band Constellation Plans More Ready Than Spectrum Frontiers 5G, Boeing Says

The federal government has used V-band satellite systems for decades, and Boeing has spent years readying its commercial V-band satellite system plans, and the FCC's spectrum frontiers proceeding is about allocating spectrum for more down-the-road potential future 5G development, Boeing said in a response posted Wednesday in RM-11773. The company defended its ask for the FCC to specify the 50.4-51.4 GHz band as usable for fixed satellite service uplinks and make an FSS allocation in the 51.4-52.4 GHz band. V-band is ready for commercial use but needs 5 GHz of paired spectrum, and the 50 GHz band spectrum would complement downlink operations in the 37.5-40 GHz bands, the company said; by putting individually licensed earth stations only in rural areas, its FSS operations won't have significant effects on upper microwave flexible use services, demonstrating FSS and UMFUS sharing is workable in the 50 GHz band. Boeing said its request is complementary to spectrum frontiers, since it identifies spectrum that would be shared between terrestrial and satellite services. Some have speculated the FCC will fold the satellite manufacturer's petition into the spectrum frontiers Further NPRM (see 1610180046). The International Bureau delayed consideration for the company's request to also operate in the 42-42.5 GHz and 51.4-52.4 GHz frequency bands (see 1611010060).