FCC Should Maintain Light Regulatory Touch for LTE-U, CEA Says

efforts to ensure that LTE-U and LAA can coexist in the unlicensed bands with other critical technologies,” CEA said. The association said its members “are highly dependent on the continued existence of unlicensed bands that are fully functional for a wide range of uses and users.” Unlicensed spectrum generates an estimated $62 billion per year just from incremental retail sales to end users of devices using unlicensed spectrum, the group said. “Near term unlicensed technologies, such as LTE-U/LAA and 802.11ax Wi-Fi, hold great promise for enhancing spectral efficiency,” CEA said. “LTE-U/LAA proponents contend that it allows for better overall use of a particular band and security by taking advantage of LTE’s robust security features.” The FCC mustn't place restrictions on services like LTE-U designed to protect Wi-Fi and other unlicensed technologies, T-Mobile said. “What may be the dominant technology and use of unlicensed spectrum today may not be the same tomorrow,” T-Mobile said. “The Commission should therefore continue its longstanding current approach of technology neutrality and ensure that bands designated for unlicensed operations support a broad range of technologies, products, and services.” But the Wi-Fi Alliance sounded a note of caution. The alliance remains hopeful “cross-industry cooperation” will lead to development of “appropriate sharing mechanisms” for LTE-U and LAA, it said. “If such consensus cannot be reached, or if there is inadequate collaboration, the Commission must be prepared to act so that the introduction of new Unlicensed LTE technologies does not impede the continued robust development of Wi-Fi and other existing technologies that are so critical to our nation’s economy and communications ecosystem.” Microsoft also expressed concerns about LTE-U and LAA, saying little is known, while Wi-Fi is critical to many Americans. “Although seemingly a highly technical matter, the question of how such coexistence is defined, implemented, and enforced in unlicensed spectrum bands is a critically important issue for literally billions of consumers globally who use voice, video, and data applications over wireless devices leveraging unlicensed spectrum,” Microsoft said. “We are concerned that any technology that makes use of a licensed control channel will use that channel to give it priority access to the medium, and in this case degrade the performance of services delivered over Wi-Fi and other technologies that rely exclusively on unlicensed spectrum.” The FCC posted comments Thursday and Friday in docket 15-105.