FCC ‘Premature’ in 5 GHz Spectrum NPRM, Toyota Researcher Plans to Tell Congress
The FCC “should take a cautious and deliberate approach” in spectrum sharing requirements in the 5.9 GHz band, Toyota InfoTechnology Center Principal Researcher John Kenney plans to tell Congress Tuesday, citing the “safety-of-life mission” of that spectrum (http://1.usa.gov/14Yq0PP). He plans to describe the role of dedicated short-range communication (DSRC) and its role in traffic safety. The FCC rulemaking on the possibilities of spectrum sharing is “premature,” and the agency should hold off “until a viable spectrum sharing technology is developed and testing verifies that there is no harmful interference from unlicensed devices,” Kenney plans to say. “Interference that results in delayed or missed driver warnings will undermine the system’s entire foundation, rendering it essentially useless and putting the entire future of DSRC technology in the United States at risk.”
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Kenney and three other witnesses are scheduled to testify at 10:30 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn at a House Communications Subcommittee hearing on the band. The hearing is not expected to happen if the government shuts down this week, as battles over a continuing funding resolution rack both houses of Congress. But if the hearing occurs, Comcast will argue in favor of sharing the 5 GHz spectrum band and pointed to its significance in the wireless future.
The FCC must allocate more spectrum in the 5 GHz band for unlicensed use, Comcast Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives Tom Nagel plans to tell the subcommittee (http://1.usa.gov/1eUDhOM). It must also “remove unnecessary regulatory barriers that impede the efficient and intensive use of existing 5 GHz spectrum resources.” He plans to call these “common sense” approaches and point favorably to the FCC NPRM. The agency should “seize the opportunity to act without further delay with regard to the 5 GHz Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure-1” sub-band once the NPRM record is complete, Nagel said in his prepared testimony. The 5 GHz band is underutilized, Comcast believes, with power levels “prohibitively low in some parts of the band” and with rules that “unnecessarily prevent any outdoor use of a large part of the band where there are no government incumbents,” according to Nagel. He will slam government use of the spectrum that leads to rules requiring “cumbersome ‘listen-before-talk’ technologies,” his testimony said. All these limitations inhibit Comcast’s development of advanced Wi-Fi technology, he plans to emphasize.
"Opportunities for innovative unlicensed products and services are almost limitless,” FCC Office of Engineering and Technology Chief Julius Knapp plans to tell Congress (http://1.usa.gov/1bmDPZL), citing past achievements in this sphere. “I want to emphasize that the Commission has not proposed to take away any incumbent user’s right to operate as a licensed service in the 5 GHz band. As with all unlicensed services, U-NII devices may not cause harmful interference to licensed services, and must accept any harmful interference that they receive.” He will call the 5 GHz band “challenging,” but the importance of it “clear.” Knapp will emphasize the interest in this issue and cite the 65 comments and 32 replies the FCC has received.
"Flexibility” is key to managing DSRC and Wi-Fi needs, Comcast believes. “We are committed to finding an approach that will both protect DSRC and allow commercially reasonable Wi-Fi deployment,” Nagel plans to say. “Although the FCC allocated this spectrum to DSRC well over a decade ago, DSRC is still not commercially available. As a consequence, this is a golden opportunity to design both Wi-Fi and DSRC use of the band to allow sharing that will produce the best overall result.”
Cisco praises the future role of “Gigabit Wi-Fi” and said it’s in demand from consumers, with “wide bands of contiguous spectrum” necessary, Cisco Chief Technology Officer Bob Friday expects to argue (http://1.usa.gov/19iLnIT). The government should give more spectrum for Wi-Fi use and zero in on “principles of sharing and non interference that form the foundation of unlicensed spectrum,” Friday’s written remarks said. But 5 GHz poses “significant technical challenges” because it isn’t cleared and policymakers must be careful to avoid “harmful interference” to the national security and public safety users of the spectrum, according to his testimony.
Committee Republicans identify several challenges, including existing disparities between U-NII bands and the powerful incumbents involved, according to the majority staff memo (http://1.usa.gov/18GKOdQ). “Can these systems co-exist without compromising their integrity?” the memo asks. “What are the unique challenges to address when considering a system as extensive as that planned for ITS [Intelligent Transportation Service]? Are there opportunities to rethink the configuration of the ITS band at this early stage in its deployment? What considerations will unlicensed device manufacturers have to consider when developing next generation unlicensed equipment?” Committee Democrats described the back and forth between intelligent transportation advocates and gigabit Wi-Fi advocates in the minority staff memo (http://1.usa.gov/16QFGkv). (jhendel@warren-news.com)