Wireless Carriers Skeptical on Spectrum Horizons NPRM; 5-0 Vote Likely

Carriers sat out buildup to the FCC NPRM on spectrum above 95 GHz, the spectrum horizons proceeding, teed up by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai for a vote at Thursday’s commissioners’ meeting. The NPRM appears headed to a 5-0 vote, agency and industry officials said Tuesday. The outlook is less clear on a second mostly wireless item -- rules implementing Section 7 of the Communications Act, which require the FCC to respond to petitions or applications proposing new technologies and services within a year, the officials said. The agency didn't comment.

In a Feb. 1 blog post on the meeting, Pai highlighted the NPRM (see 1802010042). Carriers, and most others concerned about spectrum, have sat out the proceeding. “Carriers have too much on their plates to address the item,” said a carrier executive. “Priority is for more near-term solutions.” Carriers are “more closely focused on the here and now,” said a former FCC spectrum official, noting other bands, 3.5 GHz in particular, are much closer to deployments.

“At above 100 GHz, we are reaching the limits of physics and our electronics manufacturing capabilities,” said Roger Entner, analyst at Recon Analytics. “There is high attenuation, high free space loss and the challenge of getting something oscillate 100 billion times per second. I think it's a band for the future, but the question is how far out.”

The FCC is right to seek comment on the very high frequency spectrum, said Laura Stefani, wireless lawyer at Mintz Levin. “As the commission notes, a number of experimental licenses have been issued, indicating both academic and commercial interest,” she said. “It makes sense to start this process and see what needs to be done.” Carriers “don’t have the bandwidth, pardon the pun, for dabbling in theoretical spectrum uses,” said Davina Sashkin of Fletcher Heald. “If a carrier did have some experimental uses up its sleeve, they certainly wouldn’t openly be lobbying the FCC, lest they give away a competitive edge.”

“Carriers have enough on their plates with 3.5 GHz, millimeter wave, the spectrum formerly used for satellite and the permitting rules and regulations for small cells,” said Richard Bennett, network architect. The very high-frequency spectrum is “interesting, but not yet critical,” he said.

The only filings on the NPRM in docket 18-21 are by Michael Marcus, the leading proponent of looking at the extreme high-frequency spectrum (see 1802020056). Marcus raised concerns about the draft NPRM, saying it failed to ask enough hard questions about protections for federal incumbents.

The carriers haven’t been focused on the NPRM because it doesn’t affect quarterly earnings, Marcus said in an interview. “They basically surrendered technical leadership to other people.” For several years, “the Europeans have been targeting this spectrum,” he said. “This is a vast surrender of U.S. leadership.”