Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Abernathy Pledges to Remember Private Wireless in Spectrum Policy Debate

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 20 Dec 2002 01:04:58 -0500

By J. Sharpe Smith
Editor
Abernathy Pledges to Remember Private Wireless in Spectrum Policy Debate

The day after the FCC’s Spectrum Policy Task Force recommended using a
“more flexible, consumer-oriented approach” to spectrum management,
Commissioner Kathleen Q. Abernathy told an audience at the General Session that
the importance of private wireless will not be forgotten as the Commission endeav-ors
to reform its spectrum policy.

“Although commercial mobile radio services provide an important service, they
are not a substitute for private land mobile operations,” said Abernathy. “I under-stand
that some businesses require communication that is more reliable and durable
than commercial operations can provide.”

The Task Force, created by FCC Chairman Michael Powell in June 2002,
reviewed FCC spectrum policy and concluded that changes are in order because,
according to the task force report, “increasing demand for spectrum-based services
and devices are straining longstanding, and outmoded, spectrum policies.”
Abernathy said, “The task force – which was made up of FCC staff engineers,
economists, and yes, even attorneys – was asked to step back, think outside of the
box, and brainstorm about how we can improve the way we carry out our statuto-ry
obligations to manage spectrum. The broad concepts coming out of the task
force’s deliberations – increasing access, availability and efficiency of the spectrum
resource – will help frame the debate as we move forward and initiate the public
comment process.”

Task Force Touts Flexibility in Licensing
The intent of the Spectrum Policy Task Force is to
create ways to transition from the current spectrum allo-cation
and licensing system where licensees must ask for
permission before modifying their spectrum plans, which
is known as “command and control.” The other two more
flexible methods are the “exclusive-use” model where the
use is licensed but the FCC does not set, in advance, the
nature of use and the “commons” model where the user is
not licensed and the use is not set. Only the equipment is
subject to approval by the FCC.
“To the extent feasible, more spectrum should be
identified for both licensed and unlicensed uses under
flexible rules and existing spectrum that is subject to more
restrictive command-and-control regulation should over
time be transitioned to these models,” the Task Force
report stated.

The Task Force found uneven use of the spectrum
bands, some heavily used and others used only part of the
time, and it suggested there may be opportunities for
spectrum-based services or devices to operate in the result-ing
“white spaces.” The Task Force suggested that soft-ware-
defined radios would eventually allow the
Commission to assign spectrum as a function of time, in
addition to the currently used parameters of frequency
and geographic area.

The use of the time dimension, in addition to fre-quency,
power and space, would make for a more dynam-ic
allocation and assignment of system, according to the
Task Force. “This would provide access to unused or
underused spectrum through time-sharing of spectrum
between multiple users and lead to more efficient use of
the spectrum resource,” the Task Force said.

The Task Force also recommended the creation of a
quantitative standard for acceptable interference that
would provide both greater certainty for licensees and
greater access to unused spectrum for unlicensed opera-tors.
Incentives should be used to encourage licensees to
migrate to more technologically innovative and economi-cally
efficient uses of spectrum, according to the Task
Force, through flexible rules and facilitating secondary
markets.

Abernathy said the FCC should move forward with
its efforts to promote a secondary spectrum market so that
substantial government intervention and corresponding
delays can be avoided. “Band managers –– such as Access
Spectrum –– are an important step forward in that regard.
They are an innovative spectrum management tool that
capitalizes and initiates the type of secondary market
dynamics that we hope to facilitate more broadly in the
secondary market proceeding,” she said.

Private Wireless Issues Moved
to the Front Burner

The FCC continues to promote spectral efficiency to
alleviate crowding in the private wireless bands, according
to Abernathy. “I understand that the private land mobile
bands are some of the most congested and heavily used
spectrum. We must continue to develop mechanisms to
further encourage efficient use of our existing private land
mobile spectrum,” she said.

The FCC has two ongoing proceedings to increase
spectral efficiency for the private wireless industry that
should be completed soon.

One addresses proposals regarding the migration of
operations to narrowband 12.5 kilohertz channel technol-ogy
in the refarming bands by a date-certain. “I fully sup-port
mechanisms, such as narrowband technologies, that
have the potential to make more spectrum available to the
public,” Abernathy said.

The second proceeding slated for conclusion involves
Land Mobile Communications Council’s consensus that
creates pools on the offset channels in UHF band for low-power
radio systems. “The benefits of lower power uses
are extremely important in our efforts to maximize flexi-bility
of spectrum use, and I’m looking forward to the full
adoption of this item,” she said.

Commissioner Boosts
Site-By-Site Licensing
Abernathy noted the viability and usefulness of site-by-
site licensing as a spectrum management tool. “There
is no doubt that private services are an essential part of
public and employee safety and business efficiency. In
many ways, private wireless is a backbone of the nation’s
economy, and for me, there will always be solid public
policy reasons for private land mobile spectrum.”
“[The Spectrum Policy Task Force recommendations]
are only a starting point, and it is far too soon for me to
know where the Commission is likely to end up. But I
appreciate the incredible effort, including the input from
many of you, that has gone into giving the Commission a
framework for future discussions,” Abernathy said. “Let me
assure you that I will keep the interests of the private wire-less
community in mind as we engage in this debate, and I
encourage you all to provide input going forward.”

http://www.ita-relay.com/magazine/dec02_jan03/Abernathy12-02.pdf

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