The people associated with the development of the Aspen Digital’s publication, “Toward A National Spectrum Strategy,” reads like a who’s who in the wireless world.
Current and former members of the FCC staff and representatives from AT&T, Dish, Verizon and T-Mobile were part of the mix, as well as Amazon, Ericsson, Google, Intel, Nokia and Starry, to name a few. A lot of the people who attended last week’s 2022 NTIA Spectrum Policy Symposium contributed.
The goal of the report was to provide a resource to government policy makers that they can draw upon when they develop their spectrum policy, according to John Leibovitz, a former FCC Wireless Bureau deputy chief who helped craft the AWS-3 band, the 600 MHz incentive auction and rules for Citizens Broadband Radio Services (CBRS), among other things.
The Aspen report provides an example of what a national spectrum policy might include, both thematically and topically.
In addition, “it’s a grab bag of ideas from many parts of the ecosystem,” which hopefully will be interesting to the people who are writing the actual national spectrum strategy, he told Fierce. “I don’t think anybody will like all of the ideas,” which he considers a sign of success.
Wireless carriers seemingly never have enough licensed spectrum, but the fact is, even if they were offered a chance to buy a boatload right now, they’re still reeling from big spends in the latest round of auctions. However, they need to know what spectrum is in the pipeline so they can plan both network-wise and financially.
Having a spectrum plan is something FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel long advocated for before being named to her current position. During her predecessor’s tenure, she often brought up the need for a comprehensive mid-band spectrum plan.
During the symposium last week, Rosenworcel reiterated the need for getting more mid-band spectrum into the pipeline, with airwaves in the 7-16 GHz range. She recently shared a draft Notice of Inquiry with NTIA that would explore repurposing spectrum in the 12.7-13.25 GHz band for next-generation wireless. (Note: this is not the same as the 12.2-12.7 GHz that Dish has been talking about.)
Finessing the sharing paradigm
Leibovitz said having a plan is good because it allows all the stakeholders to know what’s coming down the road, to plan for it and to make some adjustments if they need to. It also helps the government to organize around making sure things on their end happen in a timely and predictable way.
One thing folks at NTIA were happy to see addressed in the report is advanced spectrum sharing technologies, said Phil Murphy, senior advisor at NTIA, during a panel discussion at the symposium. The report mentions Incumbent Informing Capability (IIC) and systematic bidirectional sharing between federal and non-federal users.
“There are not a lot of easy bands left, if any, and we need better tools to be able to innovate our way through it,” Murphy said.
The report provides a list of bands for consideration in the spectrum pipeline, noting that different bands may be more appropriate for different policies, such as exclusive or shared use. Several bands – such as 4.4-4.9 GHz, 10.0-10.5 GHz, 14.5-15.35 GHz, 40-42 GHz and 50.4-52.6 GHz – were identified for potential shared use.
In particular, Murphy said, “we think about the possibility of creating a platform for sharing that’s validated, that’s off the shelf, that when we’re looking at a problem, we have a solution that’s available because right now, when we think about sharing, we really have to develop a bespoke solution for each individual band” and that takes time to validate.
“If we can really work together and create a system that works for folks and that people feel like they can rely on, we think that could be a real tool for, I think, creating a better future,” he added.
John Sherman, chief information officer at the U.S. Department of Defense, emphasized during a keynote address the importance of sharing when it comes to the 3.1-3.45 GHz band. The DoD, which occupies this band, is looking at ways to make shared use happen.
However, there are many radars related to land, air and sea-based communications that are critical for training and national protection, he said. Simply vacating the spectrum would be “untenable,” he stressed. In fact, he suggested it would take two decades and hundreds of billions of dollars to move out. Sharing, however, can work by collaborating with industry, he said.
“We’re going to figure this out together,” he said.