AWS-3 spectrum debate festers

The debate over whether the FCC should forge ahead with its plans to create a 25-megahertz swath of spectrum, known as AWS-3, is still festering. Proponent M2Z Networks issued a press release today saying that the FCC's interference testing has confirmed that any proposed wireless broadband service in this spectrum would not cause interference with company's offering service on adjacent bands.

The FCC has said that this AWS-3 spectrum would support a nationwide license and the agency would require the licensee to dedicate 25 percent of its network capacity to free broadband service, install a network-based Internet filtering system to block pornography and allow open access to third-party devices and applications. M2Z Networks, of course, has been a proponent of this plan. And T-Mobile USA, which is deploying its UMTS service in the AWS spectrum, is a vocal opponent.

M2Z says that the recent testing conducted by the FCC in Seattle demonstrated that AWS-3 handsets could operate safely at the commission's standard power limit of +33 dBm. And that the testing validated previous tests which found that TDD and FDD could coexist using an out-of-band emission limit of 49+ 10 log (P).

Of course, the industry is still awaiting final word from the FCC regarding this testing. So far, it hasn't weighed in with any results leaving parties on both sides of the debate to make their own interpretations.

For more:
- see this press release [1]

Related articles:
M2Z asks FCC to reject more AWS-3 [2] interference tests
T-Mobile takes M2Z to task over AWS-3 [3] auction arguments