Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Efficiency, Predictability, and the Need for an Improved Interference Standard at the FCC

From: Marcelrf <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 01 Mar 2004 23:45:39 -0500

Efficiency, Predictability, and the Need for an Improved Interference
Standard at the FCC

Author(s): R. Paul Margie
Conf Year: 2003

Abstract:
Today, for the first time, there are more mobile than landline
telephones in the United States. Satellite TV and radio are booming. In
addition, public safety organizations and the military depend heavily on
wireless systems to do their jobs. All of these technologies, and a host
of new innovations, are competing for access to the increasingly crowded
electromagnetic spectrum. As a consequence, spectrum policy has taken
center stage at the Federal Communications Commission. Seeking to
allocate spectrum resources more efficiently, the FCC's spectrum Policy
Task Force recently issued a report that suggests fundamental changes in
the way the Commission regulates wireless devices and services.

The centerpiece of this report is a proposal to promote more efficient
spectrum allocation by improving the way the FCC handles the problem of
interference. Interference occurs when the radio signals of one spectrum
user degrade equipment performance for another user. As spectrum use
grows, so does the problem of interference. The Report suggests a useful
new tool for measuring interference-the "interference temperature"
metric-but concludes that no improvements are needed in the FCC's legal
interference standard.

The FCC's spectrum policy goals, however, will be difficult to achieve
without such improvements. The interference temperature metric may allow
the Commission to measure interference more effectively. But it will not
determine whether a measured level of interference is too high, too low,
or just right in relation to the goal of promoting the efficient use of
spectrum resources. This is because metrics need standards if they are
to be applied effectively, predictably, and non-arbitrarily. For
example, deciding to measure the speed of cars with a miles-per-hour
metric does not tell us whether 45 MPH, 55 MPH, or 65 MPH is the right
speed limit for a particular road. And deciding to measure interference
with the interference temperature metric does not tell us what the
permissible interference level should be for a particular spectrum band.

To make this determination in a predictable and non-arbitrary way, the
FCC needs a permissible interference standard. Surprisingly, the
Commission does not currently have an articulated standard for
determining permissible interference. Unless the FCC develops such a
standard, efficient spectrum allocation, and predictability for
corporate, military, and public safety spectrum users will suffer. This
will result in less service for consumers, less investment by companies,
and less effectiveness for national defense technologies.

Section One of this article begins with a technical spectrum primer,
then explains why developing a permissible interference standard is
important to the FCC's spectrum policy goals. Section Two analyzes the
two most important spectrum battles of 2002 and demonstrates that the
Commission has not articulated a workable permissible interference
standard. Section Three proposes that the Commission establish such a
standard, and suggests a framework that would promote predictability and
efficiency.

More:
http://intel.si.umich.edu/tprc/papers/2003/214/HarmfulInterference.pdf

--
    "NEXTEL-1 IT'S NOT JUST NEXTEL"
  Note The New address
Subscribe to Nextel-1: http://www.groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/NEXTEL-1

  "NEXTEL2 FOR iDEN SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS"
Subscribe to Nextel2: http://www.groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/NEXTEL2

  "WIRELESS FORUM HOMELAND SECURITY GROUP"
     The Complete Resource for Wireless Homeland Security.
Subscribe to WFHSG:  http://www.groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/WFHSG

-- 
    "NEXTEL-1 IT'S NOT JUST NEXTEL"
  Note The New address 
Subscribe to Nextel-1: http://www.groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/NEXTEL-1

  "NEXTEL2 FOR iDEN SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS"
Subscribe to Nextel2: http://www.groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/NEXTEL2

  "WIRELESS FORUM HOMELAND SECURITY GROUP"
     The Complete Resource for Wireless Homeland Security.
Subscribe to WFHSG:  http://www.groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/WFHSG

Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
     http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEXTEL-1/

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
     [email-masked]

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
     http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/