Upper Part of 3.1-3.55 GHz Band Remains FCC Target for 5G

“NTIA’s 3.1 to 3.55 GHz report is weak & harms US 5G readiness,” O’Rielly tweeted after the report was posted. “Consensus is top 100 should be cleared for commercial licenses, as should second 100, with sharing below. Report extends decades old agency slow-rolling.”

Commissioners approved an NPRM proposing to remove existing nonfederal secondary and amateur allocations in the 3.3-3.55 GHz band and to relocate incumbent nonfederal operations 5-0 at their December meeting (see 1912120063). The proposal had the support of industry, opposition from amateur radio operators (see 2003240031).

“The federal government has been hoarding far too much spectrum as is,” said Jason Pye, FreedomWorks vice president-legislative affairs. “To maximize the potential of next generation technology, we need to liberate even more mid-band spectrum than what is currently in the works.” Opening the band for 5G “makes a world of sense given its adjacency to already authorized spectrum,” he said.

“The Administration needs to move quickly to free up as much spectrum as possible in the Lower 3 GHz band, so that we can match steps that so many other countries have already taken to commercialize midband spectrum,” emailed CTIA General Counsel Tom Power.

More than 70 countries have agreed to target spectrum for 5G at 3.3 GHz and up, “often with 200, 300 or more MHz of spectrum, since 3 GHz is a sweet spot for both coverage and capacity,” said Chris Pearson, president of 5G Americas. “Now that NTIA has issued its report on the full 3.1-3.55 GHz band, it is critical that the federal agencies work closely with industry at successful solutions to free up more spectrum in the band."

Congress could help by giving agencies incentives to move, said Mercatus Center Senior Research Fellow Brent Skorup. “The core problem is that upgrading and moving federal systems to other bands is mostly pain and little gain for the agencies,” he said: “Aside from a nominal fee, federal agencies don’t pay for spectrum, so they don’t have much incentive to economize and aren’t eager to highlight their underutilized spectrum in reports like this.”

“As the war between the DOD and FCC over spectrum rages on, there is 500 MHz of commercially-licensed spectrum in the 12 GHz band awaiting FCC action on nothing more than a license modification,” said Phoenix Center Chief Economist George Ford. “The FCC should pick this low-hanging fruit. Doing so would take the nation to the top of the list for 5G spectrum. Then, perhaps it is time for FCC to create a formal methodology for evaluating interference disputes so that everyone knows the rules of the game, thus permitting faster decisions rooted in relevant evidence.”

“We need a steady and full pipeline of spectrum, which is going to require forward thinking,” said Bartlett Cleland, American Legislative Exchange Council counsel. “Arguing that spectrum must be hoarded or cannot be shared is not the end of the story, in fact that should not be a story at all. The story should be that of course all bands will be optimized for maximum use.”

NTIA calls the top 100 MHz “a good candidate for potential spectrum sharing” and for “additional analysis of the entire band.” Among current federal users is the Air Force, which operates high-power airborne radar nationwide and “performs critical airborne early warning and control functions,” the report said. The Air Force employs two station-keeping equipment systems “to enhance flight safety and facilitate the management of cargo multi-ship formations.” DOD has four transportable ground-based radar systems operating band and the Department of Homeland Security one such system, NTIA said. The Navy uses the spectrum for radionavigation, including air operations, air traffic control and approach control, the report said. NASA plans to use 3.2 GHZ for advanced radar imaging.