For Contested Spectrum, It Helps Having FCC as Referee, TIA 2016 Told

Testing done in an open and transparent fashion over whether newer uses of spectrum would cause interference to those already using it also can propel the sides toward a solution, speakers said. That means not letting any one stakeholder have too big a role determining how the tests are run, they said. "Maybe put it out in the open" instead of having behind-the-scenes tests, and have "a realistic scenario" in testing, said Rangam Subramanian, NTIA lead technology and spectrum policy strategist, speaking only for himself. Such "open testing" can get it "proved out" and inform a solution, he said. In the LTE-U versus Wi-Fi issue, some contend that the testing isn't sufficient to show whether interference will hurt Wi-Fi, he said.

For there to be a good chance for warring sides to reach accord, the FCC shouldn't generally signal it might back one party over another, other panelists said. Pillsbury Winthrop communications lawyer John Hane said that hasn't necessarily been the case with an FCC proceeding poised to conclude next month in which Chairman Tom Wheeler and his staff seem to be signaling they hope the satellite industry will go along with sharing the 28 MHz band with wireless services like 5G (see 1606020035). "The commission potentially has given a sense that they are leaning in [a certain] direction," said Karl Nebbia, Alion Science and Technology director-spectrum solutions. "But the satellite community did a masterful job" at last year's World Radiocommunication Conference, where satellite interests took the "unusual" step of successfully blocking ITU from studying the issue, Nebbia said. "The satellite community has not yielded all of their leverage in pushing to come to a compromise."

Panelists compared the FCC in spectrum disputes to a parent, and spectrum users to children, saying the parent may need to settle the issue and not necessarily in the kids' favor if the siblings can't figure it out on their own. "The critical thing here is in order to resolve these kinds of issues, you need all the players in the room," said Nebbia. "Two players coming up with a side solution that no one has really heard of doesn’t help." On 28 GHz, AT&T and EchoStar made a proposal that not all signed onto (see 1604150064). On LTE-U vs. Wi-Fi, FCC guidance may be needed since Wi-Fi has been successful commercially, but unlicensed bands should be open to various uses, said Chief Technology Officer Kurt Schaubach of Federated Wireless, which makes software for sharing spectrum like what the FCC calls the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service. "Perhaps the answer lies with the commission to provide further guidance -- here again, maybe it is alignment of industry interests to find a solution or a way forward."

LTE-U v. Wi-Fi may be partly about interests in intellectual property like patents, said some panelists. "There is a lot of money there," said Hane. "There are really good arguments on both sides" of the technical issue, he said. "It's certainly worth a very careful" look at how LTE-U deployment would affect Wi-Fi, which Hane called a "terrific service."

The companies developing LTE-U and the Wi-Fi industry are working on a LTE-U/Wi-Fi coexistence test plan, noted Senior Vice President-Government Affairs Dean Brenner of Qualcomm, an LTE-U proponent. "The development of this test plan -- which has been ongoing for many months now -- involves deep technical collaboration among key stakeholders," he emailed. "We remain very confident that LTE-U will not have any adverse impact on Wi-Fi -- especially given our deep vested interest in Wi-Fi -- and, a mountain of test data already proves this."

The issue of Ligado and GPS points up how the FCC may need to take a more active role in ensuring receivers work as intended, said panelists like Hane and Schaubach. "It is time for the commission to address receiver characteristics" and maybe specify them as part of rulemakings, said Schaubach. "This has been a problem that has come up time and time again."

The FCC doesn't seem an impartial party on satellite and wireless use of 28 GHz, Hane said. Invoking the parent as mediator analogy, he said the signal the industries seem to be getting is that if they don't reach accord, one side will win. That won't solve anything, Hane said. "I believe this is coming from the chairman," he said of Wheeler. "There has been uneven engagement among the parties," particularly on the terrestrial side, Hane said. "Right now, I don’t see a compromise happening." Hane said that shared uses may be possible for the band, but that the agency seems to be in a hurry here. An FCC spokesman emailed that "28 GHz is a priority, and we are engaged with all parties to help create a sharing paradigm that balances the needs of the wireless and satellite industries."

The ongoing FCC TV incentive auction seems likely to raise enough in provisionally winning bids from wireless carriers to generate sufficient money to pay broadcasters for their spectrum plus the cost of the auction and repacking stations, though how much spectrum will be cleared isn't certain, said Hane. "I have picked up from some of the FCC’s public statements that they are stepping back from some of the more aggressive assumptions" that the auction will be a big success, he said. "If it closes anywhere, I think the FCC can say it's successful." Others agreed, because it's the first time spectrum has been auctioned this way.

One thing is certain, said panelists at this session and elsewhere at TIA 2016: Demand for spectrum and broadband capacity (see 1606070021) will continue increasing. "There is going to be a huge explosion in demand," said NTIA's Subramanian. Spectrum slicing, aggregation, creating localized networks, using small cells, and network densification are options he mentioned: "The technology is also increasingly changing, so things are moving in a positive way." Nebbia said for carriers, the incentive auction has "got to be successful," because the industry has been saying it wants more spectrum. "If they don’t aggressively support the auction process," he said, "they will be potentially sending a message that will deflate the balloon, so to speak."