Image: RNT Foundation
What’s new: A Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) about reallocating spectrum near that used by GPS. For background we are also including below in this post a National Telecommunications Information Agency (NTIA) letter to FCC on the same topic.
Why it’s Important: FCC and NTIA are the two most important organizations for how spectrum is allocated in the U.S. Ideally, spectrum is allocated so users don’t interfere with each other.
What else to know:
- FCC is an independent agency.* It is technically not part of the executive branch and is charged with managing spectrum in the best interest of the American public. Before it acts, the FCC publishes notices, seeks comment from the public, etc. to help ensure commissioners and staff have sufficient information to make decisions.
- NTIA represents the interests of the executive branch to the FCC. For example, the Departments of Defense and Transportation have great interest a variety of spectrum and not having their uses interfered with. If a proposed use would interfere with reception of GPS or use of air search radars, as examples, they would work through NTIA to make the case to the FCC.
- We admit that titling this post “Spectrum Wars” might have been a bit much. But you read this far!
*The current FCC chair, Brenden Carr, has famously said the FCC is not an independent body because he and other commissioners are appointed by the President. This has caused some to be concerned that the White House and those with strong connections to the White House who have financial interests in matters before the FCC may have outsized and inappropriate influence on the Commission’s decisions.
Here are the two documents of interest.
NTIA Letter to FCC dtd March 4, 2020
Dear Chairman Carr,
To ensure protection of the GPS LI signal at 1575.42 MHz from Mobile Satellite Service
(MSS) providers’ Direct-to-Device (D2D) user equipment operating in 1610-1660.5 MHz, I
write to request that the Commission seek public comment on new or updated Knowledge
Database (KDB) guidance, as outlined in the Attachment to this letter.
FCC FACT SHEET* Auctioning the 1675–1695 MHz and 2020–2025 MHz Bands et al.
Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
WT Docket No. 26-284, GN Docket No. 26-281, WT Docket No. 19-116
WT Docket No. 26-284, GN Docket No. 26-281, WT Docket No. 19-116 This Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) proposes rules that could lead to the auction of 25 megahertz of prime mid-band spectrum in the 1675–1695 MHz and 2020–2025 MHz bands, thereby harnessing the spectrum for advanced communications services, including flexible-use terrestrial networks, innovative direct-to-device (D2D) operations, or a hybrid of both. This FNPRM expands on the Commission’s 2019 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposing rules to reallocate the 1675–1680 MHz portion of the band for shared use between incumbent federal operations and new, non-federal flexible wireless use operations. By proposing to make the 1675–1695 MHz and 2020–2025 MHz bands available through auction for terrestrial commercial use with a secondary MSS allocation for SCS, the Commission continues to facilitate maximum flexibility to ensure the best use of the spectrum.
