Aeronet Supports NTIA Restrictions on Use of 70, 80 and 90 GHz Bands

Aeronet told the FCC it can abide by restrictions NTIA proposed in a filing on future use of the 70, 80 and 90 GHz bands. The FCC Wireless Bureau subsequently asked for a record refresh, including comments on the NTIA letter (see 2310180039). “Aeronet is confident that going forward it will be possible to coordinate in less restrictive ways than the NTIA proposed rule text,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 20-133: “Aeronet recommends that whatever rules the Commission adopts make clear that direct coordination between service providers in the 70/80 GHz bands and federal users is permitted and even encouraged. As new services are rolled out, direct coordination between users will enhance service delivery, ease overly conservative requirements, and ensure that federal spectrum usage remains protected.” Comments were due Wednesday. AT&T said it generally supports changes to the rules, including modifications to the link registration and antenna standards rules “as those modifications will promote spectrum efficiency and support 5G expansion.” The carrier also supported technical changes “to support 5G services across the nation.” The FCC “should modify its antenna rules to increase the maximum beamwidth from 1.2 degrees to 2.2 degrees, reduce minimum antenna gain from 43 dBi to 38 dBi, and reduce co-polar and cross-polar discrimination requirements for 70/80 GHz antennas,” AT&T said: “These rule changes would enable the development of smaller, lighter antennas that are more adaptable for 5G backhaul deployments in diverse settings.” Tech company Sierra Nevada asked that any use of the spectrum doesn't “undermine” proposals separately made to the FCC to allocate the 90 GHz band to enhanced flight vision system radar (see 2203250061). “Allowing that use could greatly enhance aviation safety by enabling pilots to have an additional visual-like reference to surrounding terrain, obstacles, buildings, and the airport environment,” the company said. The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) asked the FCC to examine adjacent-band protections for radioastronomy operations at 76-81 GHz. “Radio astronomy is not allocated in the spectrum band at 71-76 GHz so the use case of radio astronomy operations immediately above 76 GHz must be discussed separately, and this is missing,” NRAO said.