Wheeler Offers Revised Proposal for Wi-Fi, Other Unlicensed Spectrum Following Incentive Auction
In the latest twist on unlicensed spectrum and the TV incentive auction, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler is proposing a uniform 11 MHz duplex gap in the 600 MHz band plan, following the auction, industry and FCC officials said Thursday. The reconfigured gap, which would separate uplink and downlink spectrum in the band plan, is seen as a compromise that would offer a bone to high-technology companies like Google and Microsoft, as well as public interest groups that want more low-band spectrum dedicated to Wi-Fi and other unlicensed use, industry officials said. Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Mignon Clyburn are also strong supporters of making more unlicensed spectrum available.
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The revised proposal for the duplex gap would also address a second problem: how to protect from interference wireless microphones that also use 600 MHz spectrum, industry and FCC officials said. Under the proposal, the FCC would dedicate six megahertz of duplex gap spectrum to unlicensed and another four megahertz to wireless mics. The FCC won’t finalize the unlicensed part of the rules next week but instead will seek comment in a further NPRM (CD May 5 p1).
Michael Calabrese of the New America Foundation said the FCC appears to be moving in the right direction on unlicensed. “What we have been hearing about the chairman’s proposed changes would be a clear win-win for both consumers who use unlicensed devices and for broadcast news operations that need very narrow but guaranteed channels for breaking news,” Calabrese said.
"I'm not sure how that plan works for anybody,” said a broadcast industry lawyer. “LTE will be unhappy because there’s no protection. Wireless mics will likely be unhappy because they'll be right up against LTE. … What seems potentially elegant on paper doesn’t work in practice because engineering won’t allow it.”