Microsoft is concerned that LTE-U may hurt other unlicensed uses in the 5 GHz band, said President Brad Smith and another representative in a phone call with FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, the company said in filing posted Wednesday in docket 15-146. During Friday's conversation with Wheeler, Smith and Director-Government and Regulatory Affairs Paula Boyd sought to have at least three unlicensed channels designated nationwide in the TV bands after the incentive auction. Monday, Boyd and other cable and tech heavyweights like Comcast and Google shared with aides to FCC members their concerns about LTE-U hurting Wi-Fi (see 1510200048). LTE-U won't interfere with Wi-Fi, Qualcomm, a backer of the LTE technology, has said. Qualcomm declined further comment Wednesday.
IEEE launched a task group to examine efficient spectrum sharing in the TV white spaces, the 5 GHz license-exempt and 3.5 GHz shared access bands. “With a growing demand to mitigate co-channel interference among wireless networks and devices, including both IEEE 802 and non-IEEE 802 systems operating under general authorization, the IEEE P802.19.1a Task Group aims to define the network-based coexistence information exchange among devices in order to enable comprehensive network-based coexistence management,” IEEE said in a Tuesday news release.
Tech and cable heavyweights said they don't oppose LTE in unlicensed bands, but the standards-setting process "is the path to protecting consumers and supporting innovation." Reporting on Thursday and Monday lobbying meetings with aides to all regular FCC members by executives from Cablevision, Comcast, Google and NCTA, and in some meetings Microsoft, a lawyer at Harris Wiltshire said the LTE-U Forum isn't a standards organization. The forum has restricted membership and doesn't "engage in the type of coordination needed to protect consumers," said the filing posted Tuesday in docket 15-105. "CableLabs and Google testing demonstrates that LTE-U specification-compliant devices would substantially undermine Wi-Fi consumers." Qualcomm, an LTE-U backer and according to the group's website a forum member, has said that LTE-U and Wi-Fi can coexist. The LTE-U Forum agreed to coexistence protocols to ensure LTE-U is "polite" to other wireless spectrum users, an executive at Verizon, which the forum says started the organization, recently said (see 1510060010). "Qualcomm and all the other companies involved in developing and deploying LTE-U, which is based on the 3GPP [3rd Generation Partnership Project] Release 10-11-12 global standards, are also strong supporters of Wi-Fi, and we have a strong vested interest in ensuring that LTE-U will not have any adverse impact on Wi-Fi," emailed Qualcomm Senior Vice President-Government Affairs Dean Brenner Tuesday. "A mountain of test results on file at the FCC proves that, in fact, LTE-U will not interfere with or harm Wi-Fi, and in fact, LTE-U will in many cases be a better neighbor to Wi-Fi than Wi-Fi is to itself. We are continuing our constant technical collaboration with our colleagues in the Wi-Fi community to answer questions, address issues, and ease concerns.” The LTE-U Forum itself couldn't be reached for comment.
Wireless carriers will need to make better use of high-frequency spectrum as they try to keep up with spiraling consumer demand for data, CTIA representatives told Jessica Almond, aide to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, in a meeting last week, said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 14-177. The FCC is to vote on an NPRM on more use of spectrum bands above 24 MHz at its meeting Thursday (see 1510190067). Spectrum bands above 24 GHz "may yield extensive amounts of contiguous spectrum blocks (gigahertz rather than megahertz available in lower spectrum bands), potentially allowing the provision of extensive throughput and capacity improvements as compared to other spectrum bands available for mobile services,” CTIA said. “However, CTIA noted that such capabilities may be limited to portions of densely populated areas of the country due to the inherent propagation limits associated with spectrum above 24 GHz. CTIA also emphasized the need for very small cells, reduced barriers to small cell siting, and the need for fiber backhaul to enable these deployments.”
The FCC is now slated to take up an order on interservice interference and an order on "when operations commence" following the TV incentive auction, according to the sunshine notice for the Oct. 22 meeting, released Thursday. The FCC also will take up an order relaxing channel-sharing rules for broadcasters participating in the incentive auction and giving them more time to “transition to shared facilities” after the auction. The items are some of the few remaining ones still to be addressed by the FCC as the agency moves toward the incentive auction, slated to start March 29.
AT&T raised concerns about 49 requests for waiver of the FCC's Multichannel Video Distribution and Data Service (MVDDS) technical rules sought by seven MVDDS licensees. The Wireless Bureau sought comment Sept. 14. “The Petitioners seek a huge power increase that would overturn the delicate balance the Commission established in the 2002 band-sharing rules to provide an opportunity for MVDDS service provision while at the same time protecting” DBS service, AT&T said. AT&T, which recently wrapped up its buy of DirecTV, noted that millions of Americans rely on the provider to watch TV. “DIRECTV has made significant investments in spacecraft, launches, ground-stations (including tens of millions of subscriber terminals) and, of course, programming,” AT&T said. “The spectrum sharing rules for MVDDS licensees, which were carefully crafted during the protracted MVDDS proceeding from 1998-2002, are critical to ensuring that DIRECTV’s customers are able to receive high quality signals in this band.” The comments were posted Thursday in docket 15-218.
“Nosebleed” or extremely high frequency spectrum being looked at by the FCC for wireless use comes with advantages and disadvantages, Mitchell Lazarus of Fletcher Heald said Thursday in a blog post. Because the wavelength is short, less than three millimeters, “designing circuits is a major challenge,” Lazarus wrote. “A device’s internal components typically have dimensions comparable to this wavelength; without appropriate precautions, they act like little antennas transmitting and receiving to each other within the device, and that impairs performance.” The big advantage is that the high-frequency spectrum is almost empty, he added. “Uniquely in the spectrum, there is enough radio bandwidth here to permit data capacities similar to those of fiber-optic cable,” Lazarus said. “A compact antenna just a few inches across can provide a highly directional beam. The same frequencies can be reused nearby.”
NYU Wireless Wednesday filed at the FCC a technical report on millimeter wave propagation measurements inside an office building. The study found a “strong dependence on path loss over distance as the frequency increases,” NYU said. “The paper also shows that simpler, distant-dependent path loss models do virtually the same job at predicting signal strength as more cumbersome and less intuitive models currently used in industry.” Researchers looked at the 28 and 73 GHz bands. The report noted that while the 2.4 and 5 GHz Wi-Fi bands have been widely used for indoor wireless communications for more than 10 years, less is known about high-frequency spectrum. “The impending spectrum and capacity crunch for outdoor cellular may very well lead to the use of the 28 GHz and 73 GHz mmWave frequency bands as an extension for 5G outdoor and indoor communications, especially due to the trend of shrinking cell sizes,” the report said. The FCC is expected to approve an NPRM on high frequency spectrum at its Oct. 22 open meeting (see 1510010067).
The FCC Wireless Bureau Tuesday sought comment on proposals by two different companies to use extreme high-frequency spectrum. ZenFi sought a waiver to use the 102-109.5 GHz band under its existing Millimeter Wave Radio Service license for high-speed, point-to-point data streams between users of its service, a public notice said. ZenFi would use the band in Chicago, New York City, San Francisco and Washington metropolitan markets, the bureau said, noting that the company already has a regulatory framework set up for similar use of the 70/80/90 GHz bands. McKay Brothers seeks a similar waiver to allow its subsidiary Geneva to operate links in and around Chicago, New York City and northern New Jersey, the bureau said. Comments are due Nov. 12, replies Nov. 30. The FCC is set to take up an NPRM on high-frequency “spectrum frontiers” at its Oct. 22 open meeting (see 1510010067). Also in the high-frequency arena, the bureau Tuesday also sought comment on waiver requests by two companies that want to use smaller antenna for operations in the 71-76 and 81-86 GHz bands. Aviat Networks, a provider of microwave networking, and Fastback, which makes outdoor networking products, asked for waivers allowing use of antennas with lower minimum gain, higher maximum beamwidth and modified suppression criteria, the bureau said in a separate PN. The Fixed Wireless Communications Coalition has asked for changes to the antenna rules, the bureau noted: “Aviat and Fastback specify that they seek waivers to allow antennas meeting the proposed requirements to be used immediately, prior to the resolution of this rulemaking.” Comment due dates are the same as for the other PN.
Contrary to concerns raised by the prpl Foundation and other groups (see 1509300063), the FCC doesn't plan to ban third-party firmware installation on devices, including Wi-Fi routers, said Julius Knapp, chief of the Office of Engineering and Technology, in a Thursday blog post. Numerous parties continue to raise the issue in comments on proposed rules for the evaluation and approval of RF devices. “Like the U-NII rules we adopted, the proposed rules do not require device makers to prevent installation of third party firmware or otherwise favor specific security solutions,” Knapp said. “Quite the contrary, the proposed rules would require manufacturers to select the security method they deem appropriate to prevent modifications that take the device out of compliance.” Interference prevention is key to a flexible use spectrum regime, Knapp said. “The proposed rules aim to create a certification process that recognizes this goal without creating burdensome red tape for manufacturers and headaches for users while also allowing innovative solutions by 3rd party vendors,” he said. “It’s critical that we get the details right, and we look forward to fielding comments in the record this fall.”