Enterprise Wireless Insider, Vol. 10, No. 15

EWA and LMCC Respond to 800 MHz Access Proposal

On November 22, EWA and the Land Mobile Communications Council (LMCC) separately filed comments in response to an FCC Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) which suggested that it would be appropriate spectrum policy to allow 800 MHz incumbents priority access to 800 MHz Expansion Band (EB) and Guard Band (GB) channels when such spectrum is released following rebanding processes. The LMCC suggested that the FCC adopt the original six-month, time-limited priority access opportunity and that the need for inter-category sharing waivers should not be required during this period. LMCC member organizations opposed to any time-limited application window for incumbent licensees included the Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA) and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO).  

EWA endorsed the LMCC positions and further recommended that Industrial/Business T-Band and 900 MHz incumbents also be eligible for priority access to the spectrum. EWA also suggested that the FCC lift the inter-category sharing freeze on interleaved as well as EB/GB channels during the incumbent-only application period, and encouraged the FCC to revisit the public safety three-year priority access policy regarding Sprint-vacated spectrum.

EWA and the LMCC both recommended that conditional licensing be extended to 470-512 MHz, SMR and to 700 MHz public safety narrowband applicants, but that the FCC must strictly enforce the 180-day limit on a conditional license unless justified by a waiver.

Both the LMCC and EWA comments are available online.

EWA/AEP Seek Reasonableness

With EWA’s assistance, earlier this year the American Electric Power (AEP) requested a waiver of certain rules that would permit access to seven Sprint-vacated 800 MHz channels approximately one and one-half years before they would have been available normally to a qualified Critical Infrastructure Industry (CII) entity such as AEP.  Although not immediately, APCO eventually objected on the grounds that AEP failed to demonstrate a need or any compelling reason for the request, and that granting the waiver would undermine the purpose of the set-aside of the 800 MHz Sprint-vacated spectrum for public safety use. 

After absorbing the unreasonableness of APCO allegations, EWA/AEP responded by informing the Commission that in fact, five of the seven channels would only be available to AEP in any event given their current use of the same channels at other nearby sites. Additionally, APCO might have taken a less flamboyant posture had they realized that there are sixteen unassigned 800 MHz interleaved public safety channels that remain exclusively available for public safety use, excluding a substantial number of Sprint-vacated channels that would also remain in the immediate geographic vicinity of AEP’s operations in rural Ohio. This spectrum research, which was conducted by EWA, could have been easily replicated by APCO. In EWA’s view, surely two channels can be made available to AEP to accommodate its spectrum capacity requirements enabling the public to receive energy-saving power services in rural Ohio, given that the fact that is an abundance of public safety spectrum resources in the area that has existed and will remain for the near future. 

View these comments online.

900 MHz PEBB NOI

As anticipated, as a result of the national elections, the FCC was advised by the Congressional Republican leadership not to initiate or pursue regulatory initiatives, particularly those that might be considered “controversial,” until such time as new FCC Commissioners have been approved by the Senate.  Obviously, this order affects many of the outstanding matters of interest to EWA, including the 900 MHz Private Enterprise broadband (PEBB) initiative, which we understand is being considered in a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) along with the M2M 900 MHz proposal.  

In a recent letter to the FCC leadership, EWA Regulatory Counsel Liz Sachs noted that the adoption of an NOI does not commit the FCC to any course of action, and the Commission has used this procedural vehicle in numerous instances when it wished to solicit public input to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the public policy and technical aspects of an issue before making any decision as to the optimal regulatory approach. EWA anticipates that the Congressional directive to the FCC will result in some delay in the adoption of the item, even if it were limited to an NOI. 

Regulatory Fees a Burden to Small Business

EWA representatives met recently with FCC Office of Managing Director (OMD) staff to discuss the merits of imposing regulatory fees on Private Land Mobile Radio Service (PLMRS) exclusive-use and shared-use licenses. In follow-up ex parte correspondence, EWA noted that while the multi-year regulatory fee for an individual PLMRS license may not be large, the “fees represent a burden” to the small businesses that use them to support a business enterprise activities. EWA noted further that renewals occur randomly, in accord with the date on which a license was granted, and that tracking these filing obligations can be a challenge. OMD staff invited EWA to this meeting because of the large volume of PLMRS licenses its members hold. Another topic discussed during the meeting included the importance of having email addresses provided by all PLMRS licensees in an age of electronic application filings. 

6 GHz Waiver Request Premature

EWA recently filed comments with the FCC which responded to an application and associated waiver request filed by Higher Ground LLC, that seeks a blanket earth station license to operate up to 50,000 mobile earth terminals at 6 GHz throughout the United States.  As described in the request, grant of the waiver will permit consumer-based text messaging/light email and Internet of Things communications on C-Band satellite frequencies in the 3700-4200 MHz (downlink) and 5925-6425 MHz (uplink) bands. A waiver is required because the 6 GHz band is not available for mobile earth station operations and because Higher Ground seeks to be exempt from the rules governing the licensing of earth station facilities and the coordination procedures that apply to fixed microwave services.

While supporting more intensive use of finite spectrum resources through sharing, EWA stated in its comments that such efforts require “appropriate conditions and with clearly defined, effective rules that protect against interference. The Waiver Request does not present such a situation.”  EWA noted that many of its members use microwave spectrum to link facilities in their networks, and the 6 GHz band on which Higher Ground proposes to operate without adherence to prior coordination procedures, is used intensively by many entities who had already been required to vacate lower bands to accommodate their microwave requirements. EWA urged the FCC to deny the Waiver Request and consider the Higher Ground proposal, if at all, in response to a Petition for Rulemaking where such far-reaching proposals are best considered.

Sprint Vacated 800 MHz to be Released

As a result of the completion of 800 MHz band reconfiguration in twenty-one (21) NPSPAC regions, the FCC released a Public Notice (DA 16-1362) announcing that Sprint-vacated channels in the interleaved portion of the band (809-815/854-860 MHz) will become available for licensing exclusively by public safety entities for three years following the opening of an FCC filing window, and for public safety and critical infrastructure industry applicants for two additional years afterwards. Among other regions, Sprint-vacated channels will become available in the New York City metropolitan area, Maryland/DC/Northern Virginia, Michigan, Illinois, Eastern Pennsylvania, Western Pennsylvania, New England, North Carolina, Illinois, and Tennessee.  
  
Public Safety applicants may submit requests for Sprint-vacated spectrum capacity immediately to EWA as the Alliance has been previously certified by the FCC to process requests for Sprint-vacated frequency coordination on behalf of public safety licensees. The FCC has established that the pre-coordination notification process among certified frequency advisory committees, may begin no sooner than January 19, 2017, and applications may be filed with the FCC beginning on February 23, 2017. In related news, some Sprint-vacated channels will also become available for licensing in regions which were previously impacted by an application freeze that has now been lifted. Also, this FCC notice does not release channels in the Expansion Band and Guard Bands.