Satellite Spectrum Frontiers Proposals See FWCC Resistance

The Fixed Wireless Communications Coalition (FWCC) is pushing back against some satellite operators' proposals for changes to the spectrum frontiers order (see 1702270018). In a filing to be posted in docket 14-177, FWCC said the satellite operators' proposal for a tiered spectrum frontiers approach whereby an earth station protected area could cover 0.2 percent to 10 percent of a license area population, depending on the band and the area's population, would threaten upper microwave flexible use system service and that the FCC should stick with the current rule or the FWCC tiered proposal that uses smaller percentages. FWCC said it agreed with the satellite operators that there needs to be better definition of what types of facilities and transportation routes can't be in earth station interference zones, but said it disagreed with some of the proposed satellite operators' definitions. FWCC said it doesn't disagree with the satellite proposal to dropping the limit of three earth stations per license area, as long as the population percentage limit remains the same or, in a tiered approach, is no higher than the FWCC proposal and as long as the population limit applies to the aggregated projected areas of all the earth stations in a license area. And FWCC said it objected to the satellite proposal of a coordination system database of UMFUS facilities "as being unnecessarily expensive and complex."