NTIA Hears Interest in Spectrum Strategy From Variety of Sources
NTIA posted comments it received last week on the implementation plan for the national spectrum strategy (see 2401030059). Among noteworthy comments, public safety groups pressed the administration to also consider public safety spectrum. Utilities sought additional spectrum for their networks. T-Mobile and Verizon urged a focus on high-power licensed spectrum.
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APCO said NTIA and other agencies shouldn’t “overlook” public safety’s need for reliable, interference-free spectrum. Public safety agencies use spectrum to dispatch responders, provide incident-related data including crime suspect descriptions and information from the scene, coordinate incident response and establish backup links for 911 networks, APCO said: “In many cases, the bands available to public safety are so congested that existing and prospective licensees cannot obtain the spectrum needed to meet their requirements.”
Spectrum has become critical to public safety, the National Emergency Number Association said. First responders "depend on uninterrupted radio communications to fulfill their duties in ensuring the public receives emergency services in a timely manner,” NENA said. The group supports using auction proceeds to pay for public safety deployments.
Utilities face increasing demands to promote clean energy and protect against physical and cybersecurity threats and “the need for access to spectrum to support these efforts has never been greater or more important,” the Utilities Technology Council said. Utilities rely on communications to monitor and control the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity and the delivery of gas and water, UTC said: “Communications are central to smart grid, and technologies like distributed automation and protective relaying must be able to communicate with remote devices to constantly maintain the balance of power as well as the pressure of gas and water services.”
A "sound" spectrum policy is important to utilities "to develop a wide range of next-generation applications that will improve the reliability, safety, security, and resiliency of the electric grid,” the Edison Electric Institute said. Nations around the world “are further along than the U.S. in recognizing the importance of spectrum for utilities and have all taken steps towards making spectrum available for critical infrastructure communications,” Southern Co. said.
T-Mobile supported AT&T and CTIA arguments that the strategy should target more spectrum for full-power licensed use. Carriers face “relentless pressure” to meet “ever-increasing demand for wireless connectivity and will continue to experience capacity constraints without additional spectrum,” T-Mobile warned. Spectrum sharing isn’t the answer under all circumstances, the carrier said, arguing that at least 1,500 MHz of additional frequencies should be designated for licensed, high-power use.
The U.S. is falling behind other nations, like China, in making spectrum available for carriers, Verizon said. The strategy identifies the lower 3 and 7/8 GHz bands for repurposing for commercial use. NTIA “should take the next, critical step of setting benchmarks for the amount of spectrum to be identified in each band for licensed, full-power use,” Verizon added. Licensed spectrum also “provides certainty and reliability that are critical to investment in networks at scale, creating the infrastructure for … growth and productivity,” the carrier said.
Among other comments, Lockheed Martin said the strategy should seek to “advance broad U.S. technology leadership.” The company noted spectrum's importance for the aviation, space, defense and transport sectors, in addition to telecom. The Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International applauded the strategy for recognizing that a final FCC order designating the 5030-5091 MHz band for drone use “may be imminent.”