More Spectrum For Mobile Broadband … Maybe
By Paul Kruczkowski, Editor
The call for additional U.S. mobile broadband spectrum by wireless carriers, the FCC, and even President Obama is well documented. After a failed attempt to allocate spectrum as part of The American Jobs Act of 2011, Congress has now authorized the FCC to hold incentive auctions for spectrum relinquished by TV broadcasters. If successful, the plan would provide the bandwidth needed to meet increasing data usage requirements and reach true 4G performance, as defined by the IMT-Advanced standard. It would also free up spectrum for the establishment of a nationwide interoperable wireless public safety network.
The prime UHF spectrum that the FCC will attempt to clear is 572 to 698 MHz, or broadcast TV channels 31 to 51. The commission will first hold a reverse auction to determine which broadcasters are willing to part with their spectrum and how much compensation each will accept in return for relinquishing its rights to use it. Broadcasters that decide to give up their spectrum can choose to (1) move to the VHF band, (2) share a TV channel with another licensee, or (3) give up its spectrum without relocating to another band. The FCC has earmarked $1.75 billion of the auction proceeds for a TV broadcaster relocation fund.
Once the reverse auction is completed, the FCC will reallocate blocks of the spectrum to wireless providers through forward auctions. AT&T and Verizon Wireless have the deepest pockets and are likely to benefit the most from these auctions, which are expected to generate estimated net revenues of $25 billion for the government coffers.
An important secondary benefit of the legislation is that it allocates 10 MHz of "D-Block" spectrum and $7 billion of funding for the deployment of a nationwide wireless broadband public safety network in the upper half of the 700 MHz band. This would double the bandwidth for public safety broadband use, with two 10 MHz bands at 758 to 768 MHz and 788 to 798 MHz. The creation of such a network would be welcome news to companies that provide radio equipment to the public safety sector, since the scale of a nationwide deployment would be large and long-lasting.
The legislation also allows the FCC to define guard bands in the newly partitioned spectrum and to permit the guard bands to be used as unlicensed white spaces. As a result, the promising technology commonly referred to as Super Wi-Fi would still have a bright future, and many communities would stand to reap the benefits of the wireless regional area network (WRAN) technology defined by IEEE 802.22.
Now for the bad news. This spectrum transition from broadcasters to wireless carriers may not be a smooth one, for two primary reasons. First, the FCC will have to rework the rules that address adjacent channel allocations and create new rules that allow two stations to coexist on a single channel. Second, unlike the analog-to-digital TV transition completed in 2009, broadcasters will have the option to hold on to the spectrum they currently own. National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) analysis shows that 672 full-power TV stations still operate on channels 31 through 51, all of which would need to relinquish their spectrum for the FCC to meet its goal. In comparison, only 174 stations had to be cleared during the digital conversion, so celebrating the arrival of new mobile broadband spectrum may be premature. The worst-case scenario would be if a significant number of broadcasters choose not to participate, thus preventing the FCC from recovering a sufficient chunk of contiguous spectrum.
The FCC is counting on the lure of incentive money and the desire to snap up the best available spectrum during reallocation to create a wave of interest in the reverse actions. Provided that this goes as planned, broadcasters will get paid for their unused spectrum and will receive new allocations at lower frequencies. A nationwide interoperable wireless broadband public safety network will be deployed, and unlicensed use of white spaces will be permitted. The broadband wireless industry will acquire the spectrum that it desperately needs to continue its growth and deploy next-generation technology. Finally, the RF and wireless industry will enjoy long-term economic opportunities that far eclipse Uncles Sam's revenues… maybe.