An FCC Wireless Bureau public notice on the 600...
An FCC Wireless Bureau public notice on the 600 MHz band plan doesn’t sufficiently deal with the problem of co-channel interference -- “one of the most critical unresolved elements” of the band plan -- said the NAB in a comment…
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filed Friday (http://bit.ly/12LPFfS). The NAB said the commission can’t use a variable plan like the ones suggested in the PN without resolving “the interference implications of broadcasters and wireless carriers operating on co- and adjacent channels in neighboring markets under a variable band approach.” The NAB said both options explored in the notice -- a reverse “down from 51” plan and a time division duplex (TDD) plan -- threaten to “cause widespread harmful interference to both broadcast and wireless operations in the 600 MHz” and could threaten the success of the auction. However, of the two plans in the PN, NAB said it favored the reverse “down from 51” plan, “if the Commission is intent on proceeding with a variable plan.” In a co-blog post with AT&T and Verizon, NAB has previously endorsed a “down from 51” plan,” which it says is the industry consensus (CD May 22 p4). The NAB said the Wireless Bureau must “rigorously evaluate” co-channel interference if it intends to pursue a variable plan. “The band plan options introduced in the Notice skirt this issue entirely, evidently favoring academic economic flexibility over real-world engineering,” said NAB.