WRC REACHES COMPROMISE ON 5 GHZ WI-FI PROPOSAL
In what was called a “very delicate” compromise, the World Radio Conference (WRC) in Geneva moved forward Wed. with a tentative plan for making additional spectrum available at 5 GHz for radio local area networks (RLANs), including Wi-Fi. The proposal, approved by the WRC allocations committee, appeared to bridge differences between European administrations and the U.S. on certain outdoor use restrictions. The agreement, which awaits final plenary approval, would allow outdoor RLAN operation at 5250-5350 MHz, while asking that countries take “appropriate” steps that would lead to most systems’ being operated indoors.
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Overall, the agreement would allocate an additional 455 MHz at 5 GHz for mobile devices, including Wi-Fi-based and other types of RLANs. One point of debate since the June 9 start of the conference has been whether both indoor and outdoor use of mobile devices should be allowed in the sub- band of 5250-5350 MHz. The U.S. has favored no outdoor restrictions, saying proposed rules would protect radiolocation and earth exploration satellite services (EESS). But European govts. argued that proscriptions on outdoor use were needed to protect incumbent services. Ian Hutchings, of New Zealand’s Ministry of Economic Development, told the allocations committee that compromise language was developed this week as a result of “offline discussions” among the Conference of European Postal & Telecom (CEPT) Administrations, the Inter-American Telecom Commission (CITEL) and Japan. The point was to resolve problems on power limits and conditions of use while allowing flexibility for technical advances, Hutchings said.
“This document achieves that objective and allows a good regulatory framework to allow wireless LANs to develop while affording appropriate protection to existing services,” Hutchings said. He said administrations with existing regulations before WRC-03 were “afforded some flexibility in determining transmitter power limits.”
The U.S. delegation said in a statement the preliminary agreement meant that outdoor operation would be allowed in 355 MHz out of the 455 MHz that would be allocated for RLANs at 5 GHz. That band already is available for use in the U.S. and this allocation would be “consistent with current utilization of the band,” the U.S. said.
A U.S. delegate told the committee she was “personally surprised to see this document here today, but pleasantly surprised,” cautioning that it represented a “very delicate compromise.” The result is a proposal that “provides something for everyone,” she said. The wireless LAN sector would be given adequate spectrum to provide broadband services where they were needed, she said. The technical and operating constraints would provide protection for EESS and other incumbent systems, she said.
The item, the first time unlicensed technology has been teed up for a proposed WRC allocation, would: (1) Allocate 5150-5350 MHz and 5470-5725 MHz on a primary basis to the mobile service for implementing wireless access systems (WAS). (2) Make an additional primary allocation for EESS (active) and space research service (active) at 5460-5570 MHz. (3) Upgrade the radiolocation service to primary status at 5350-5650 MHz. “The upgrade will ensure that critical Department of Defense radar systems are protected,” the U.S. said. The proposal notes that interference from a single WAS, including those meeting the required power limits, wouldn’t “on its own cause any unacceptable interference to an FSS satellite receiver in the band 5150-5250 MHz.” It said mobile satellite service feeder-link receivers might “experience an unacceptable effect due to the aggregate interference from these WAS including RLANs and it may not be possible for administrations to identify the location of the source of the interference and the number of WAS including RLANs in operation simultaneously.”
At 5150-5250 MHz, the proposal would restrict mobile service to indoor use with a maximum mean effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP) of 200 mW. Administrations “may monitor” whether the aggregate power levels in the ITU recommendation “have been or will be exceeded in the future in order to enable a future competent conference to take appropriate action.” At 5250-5350 MHz, mobile service stations would be limited to a maximum mean EIRP of 200 mW. “Administrations are requested to take appropriate measures that will result in the predominant number of stations in the mobile service being operated in an indoor environment,” the proposal said. Mobile service stations that are allowed to be used indoors or outdoors may operate to a maximum mean EIRP of 1 W and a maximum mean EIRP density of 50 mW/MHz in any 1 MHz band. When operating above 200 mW, stations would have to meet certain emissions mask levels. The antenna masks are meant to avoid interference to satellites for systems operating above 200 mW at 5250-5350 MHz, a source said.
“It encourages administrations to draft rules so that most use will be indoors,” said Washington attorney Scott Harris, noting that, importantly, this language didn’t mandate indoor use. For countries concerned about providing additional protection for systems such as EESS, the proposal contains lower power levels or emissions masks for outdoor use and encourages predominantly indoor use, Harris said. For administrations such as the U.S. that are concerned with outdoor use, it would permit that and “the encouragement of predominant indoor use is not mandatory,” he said.