The Fixed Wireless Communications Coalition (FWCC) and Alcatel ba...

Commission to reject the proposal. FiberTower said the 2-ft. antenna would mean 1/3 the cost and 1/4 the weight of a 4-ft. antenna, which translates into lower costs for providing, installing and maintaining 11 GHz links, FiberTower said. “The only plausible downside to small antennas could be difficulty in frequency coordination due to the somewhat broader beam pattern,” a concern that the company has addressed with a proposed rule that shifts coordination disadvantage to the small antenna user, FWCC said. FS and fixed satellite service communities both have primary allocations in the 10.7-11.7 GHz band. SIA said granting FiberTower’s request would constitute a de facto rule change that shouldn’t be made without a thorough examination of policies that underlie the rule. The group argued that FiberTower hasn’t presented special circumstances that would warrant a deviation from the rule and said thousands of 2-ft. microwave antennas are just the beginning: “It is a virtual certainty that FiberTower’s competitors will seek waivers of their own, and there is no apparent basis for denying them comparable treatment. The reality, then, is that tens of thousands of 2-ft. microwave antennas could well be installed be fore the Commission has an opportunity to evaluate whether there are grounds for a rulemaking.”