2.5 GHz Auction to Start in July; Receiver Standards NOI Next Month: Rosenworcel
The FCC plans a 2.5 GHz auction starting in July, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel told the Mobile World Congress Tuesday. The FCC has been under pressure to announce a start date, with its auction authority expiring Sept. 30 (see 2202110056). Rosenworcel also told the conference the FCC will issue a notice of inquiry on receiver performance and standards (see 2202180054) in April. Speakers at the Barcelona event said 6 GHz is emerging as a key band for 5G and Wi-Fi globally.
“This is the single largest swath of contiguous mid-band spectrum we have below 3 GHz and the airwaves available in this auction are going to help extend 5G service beyond our most populated areas,” Rosenworcel said of the 2.5 GHz band. “Then, no rest for the weary, we will turn our sights to working with our federal partners to open up the next tranche of mid-band spectrum in the 3.1-3.45 GHz band,” she said.
The FCC is making progress on providing mid-band spectrum for 5G, Rosenworcel said. The agency recently granted more than 5,600 C-band licenses, she noted. The FCC has approved more than 270 licenses in the 2.5 GHz band for tribal use, she said: “On top of that, we are taking a close look at the 4.9 GHz band and considering how it can be used for 5G services for public safety.”
“We are encouraged by ... Rosenworcel’s commitment to releasing more spectrum for licensed commercial use, and we look forward to working closely with the FCC to make more spectrum available to meet the ever-growing consumer demand for wireless broadband,” CTIA President Meredith Baker said in a statement.
“This is a critical step to help close the digital divide & bring competition across America, including rural areas!” tweeted Neville Ray, T-Mobile president-technology.
6 GHz Future
“The future of the 6 GHz band is going to be extremely important,” said Kalvin Bahia, GSMA Intelligence principal economist, in a panel streamed from Barcelona Tuesday. “It’s going to shape the next 10, 15, 20 years of 5G and Wi-Fi across pretty much all countries. … All policymakers, vendors, operators, everyone in the world really, has an interest.”
Europe plans a decision on the future harmonized use of the 6 GHz band in 2024, said Eric Fournier, director-spectrum planning and international affairs at France’s Agence Nationale des Frequences. France is hoping for outdoor use of the low section at higher power levels than now allowed, he said. The FCC allocated the band for unlicensed use in 2020.
European industry is falling behind U.S. industry, said Jan-Hendrik Jochum, Deutsche Telekom vice president-spectrum policy and projects. Europe over the past 10 years has “lost ground, and a lot of ground,” he said. “This is due to regulation … that is much more investment friendly in the U.S.,” he said: Europe also suffers from a fragmentation of the rules, from country to country.
Europe needs more use of 6 GHz, Jochum said. “If we don’t get it, we really have a problem,” he said. Customer demands are increasing “and additional mid-band spectrum will be essential to deliver high and best network quality,” he said. “6 GHz is, in fact, the only possible resource that can solve the situation for us, looking to the future and staying competitive," he said.
Looking at receivers is the “next step in innovative spectrum management, Rosenworcel said. “Minimally performing receivers can make it more difficult to introduce new services in the same or nearby frequencies,” she said. “They can diminish broader opportunities with radiofrequency and put constraints on what is possible in the new wireless world."
The NOI will ask “how receiver improvements could provide greater opportunities for access to spectrum,” Rosenworcel said. It will “explore how these specifications could come in the form of incentives, guidelines, or regulatory requirements -- in specific frequency bands or across all bands,” she said: It will “seek comment on legal authority and market-based mechanisms that could help create a more transparent and predictable radiofrequency environment for all spectrum users, new and old.”
Commissioner Nathan Simington, who has urged looking at receiver standards, thanked Rosenworcel for the commitment to launch an NOI. “An approach that looks at both the receiver and transmitter ends of the equation is the only framework truly capable of timely accommodating the interests of federal users of spectrum, and other incumbents,” he said: “We see a lot of value in getting to a place where conflicts such as the C-Band altimeter fight are headed off at the pass. … Clear rights regarding interference protection can provide incentives for innovation and collaboration among spectrum users in a way that avoids regulatory dictate.”