Innovation Zone PN Seen as Easy 4-0 FCC Vote
FCC commissioners are expected to OK a public notice designating new innovation zones for experimental licenses in Raleigh and Boston 4-0 Thursday. The PN hasn’t been controversial and is said to be likely to be approved largely as circulated by acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. The draft notice also proposes to expand the New York City zone.
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The only filing in the docket on the notice, 19-257, is from the National Science Foundation’s Platforms for Advanced Wireless Research with details on the areas (see 2107190031). FCC officials said in interviews no one has contacted them on the draft since it circulated. The commission declined comment this week.
“The rationale for Raleigh is relatively clear given the NSF PAWR Facility that is there and the similar treatment that has already been accorded the other PAWR facilities in New York and Salt Lake City,” emailed FCC Technology Advisory Council Chairman Dennis Roberson. He said it’s less clear why the FCC didn’t grant the same status to the new PAWR site in Iowa.
The Raleigh zone will be based at North Carolina State University. NCSU houses the aerial experimentation and research platform for advanced wireless (AERPAW). “This project will create a city-scale platform to focus on new use cases for advanced wireless technologies that are emerging for unmanned aerial systems, including telecommunications, transportation, infrastructure monitoring, agriculture, and public safety,” said the draft notice.
“AERPAW is positioned uniquely to offer a nationwide experimentation infrastructure for 5G researchers and beyond with software-controlled wireless and [drone] navigation capabilities,” said Ismail Guvenc, NCSU professor of electrical and computer engineering. “This will help AERPAW as a proving ground for researchers to develop, test, and improve their innovative technologies,” he said: FCC approval “will make it possible to do those experiments in frequencies that are otherwise not possible to use by individual researchers.”
Researchers will be able to do experiments on new wireless protocols, such as 5G, unmanned aerial vehicle applications and combinations of the two, said Brian Floyd, also a NCSU professor. One example is “investigating how a UAV combined with 5G technologies can help provide communication capabilities during emergency events,” he said: “It's important to understand how to implement this reliably and efficiently and to understand the capabilities of the system.” Carrier networks aren’t “necessarily designed for large-scale coverage and support of UAVs,” he said. With the OK, AERPAW “can host experiments using licensed spectrum under a single authorization and within a particular geographic region, while ensuring that other incumbents are not disturbed,” Floyd said.
The Raleigh designation “will present opportunities for startups, enterprises, researchers" and the city "to scale innovation, growth, and quality of life,” emailed the municipality's Chief Information Officer Sindhu Menon. “We expect this will enhance digital services for our residents and businesses; and address digital divide. Whether it's at public safety, education, a park, healthcare, a business, or using Raleigh Transit, we aim to provide better services.”
The Boston zone, at Northeastern University, supports broader use of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Colosseum network emulator, the draft said. Officials with the program declined comment. The program says it uses 256 software-defined radios to emulate up to 65,536 100 MHz-RF channels and has 168 current users.
The two new innovation zones “provide a great opportunity for new use cases for advanced wireless technologies, as well as research and experimentation with different spectrum bands that will ultimately support continued U.S. leadership,” emailed Wireless Infrastructure Association Government Affairs Counsel John Howes. Other major wireless groups declined comment.