WCA Asks FCC to Act on 2.5 GHz Rule Change
The Wireless Communications Association asked the FCC to approve its petition seeking higher out-of-band-emission limits for mobile digital stations in the 2.5 GHz band to allow for the use of the wider channel bandwidths (http://xrl.us/bkzsuy). The WCA petition for rulemaking was supported by equipment makers and the Telecommunications Industry Association, who agreed the change could lead to more use of Educational Broadband Service (EBS) and Broadband Radio Service (BRS) spectrum.
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"To lead the world, U.S. mobile networks must meet or exceed the world’s standards,” WCA said. “The current OOBE limits in the 2.5 GHz band, which limit mobile devices to 10 MHz channels, do not meet the latest 4G standards.” Aligning outdated OOBE limits with worldwide standards “is necessary to realize the full benefits of 4G technologies: maximum spectral efficiency and broadband throughput, global scope and scale, and consumer-driven form factors,” WCA said.
Nokia Siemens Networks and Nokia endorsed the proposed rule changes and agreed that “amending the Commission rules on OOBE limits for this band along the lines proposed would help realize the benefits of existing and emerging mobile broadband technologies,” in comments filed at the FCC (http://xrl.us/bkzsww). Aligning U.S. standards with global standards “enables manufacturers and network operators to take advantage of very meaningful economies of scale in the 2.5 GHz band, reducing the amount of equipment customization needed for the U.S. market,” Nokia said. “The result is that devices cost less and come to market more quickly, to the obvious benefit of U.S. consumers."
Motorola Mobility also said the FCC should make the changes sought by WCA. “OOBE emission limits for mobile BRS and EBS stations -- by effectively limiting the size of transmitting channels -- prevent manufacturers and network operators from fully leveraging 4G network technologies in the 2.5 GHz band,” Motorola said (http://xrl.us/bkzsxv). The current limits “will increasingly hamper 4G wireless broadband deployment by preventing 2.5 GHz licensees from transmitting over adequately-sized channels."
Designing smartphones that use 20 MHz channel bandwidths that comply with current OOBE limits for 10 MHz channels “is indeed difficult for manufacturers, and it is not realistic to comply with the existing U.S. OOBE simply by component alterations,” TIA said (http://xrl.us/bkzsx9). A closer look at “pro-innovation rule changes” for the EBS and BRS bands “is consistent with TIA’s belief that the Commission should prioritize the allocation of wide, contiguous blocks of spectrum,” TIA said. Globalstar opposed the change sought by WCA (CD July 12 p14).