Odds Appear to Be Growing for Reallocation of 1755-1780 MHz Band
Officials at NTIA and the FCC indicated this week they're focusing on 1755-1780 MHz for possible reallocation for wireless broadband. The wireless industry has long sought the band for pairing with AWS-3 spectrum, for what would likely be one of the most-watched spectrum auctions since 2007’s 700 MHz auction.
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NTIA Associate Administrator Karl Nebbia discussed the band at length during Tuesday’s Commerce Spectrum Advisory Committee meeting (CD Jan 12 p1). FCC Wireless Bureau Chief Ruth Milkman commented the following day (CD Jan 13 p2). Wireless industry officials said they were encouraged that both had focused comments on the band, long sought by carriers.
Reallocating the band may be tough. The Department of Defense uses the spectrum for controlling precision guided munitions, air-to-ground video systems, a DOD mobile subscriber network, the military version of cellphones, and DOD satellite control. Many of the systems in the band were recently moved there from the 1710-1755 MHz band, which was sold by the FCC during the AWS-1 auction. In October, NTIA Administrator Larry Strickling said the agency would complete an analysis of the band as quickly as possible.
"This won’t be easy because of DOD’s position,” said analyst Paul Gallant of MF Global. “But the president has personally gotten behind the FCC’s wireless spectrum push, so it’s definitely realistic that something will happen on 1.7” GHz.
"We're always hopeful,” 4G Americas President Chris Pearson said. “4G Americas believes 1755-1780 MHz is a priority band because that band is globally harmonized for mobile broadband, as the recent action of some of our neighbors in the Americas has shown.” 4G Americas hopes the NTIA will conduct a “thorough” review of the band, Pearson said. “Industry needs a review that is detailed enough with respect to activity in the band, the intensity of that activity, and the associated costs of relocation to provide a real transition plan -- not a binary report on whether it’s available or not in the next several years."
"We're very happy that the FCC and NTIA are focused on this pairing,” said Chris Guttman-McCabe, CTIA vice president of regulatory affairs. “As we have advocated, we think it makes sense from both a technology and international harmonization perspective.” A wireless carrier executive said she would be “thrilled” if the 1755 MHz spectrum is paired with the AWS3 band. “But it has to happen sooner than in 10 years,” the executive said. “We are hoping for a five year plan.” NTIA said in an October report the 1755-1780 MHz band “will continue to be a priority for analysis … because it is harmonized internationally for mobile operations, wireless equipment already exists and the band provides signal characteristics advantageous to mobile operations.”