SALE OF UPPER 700 MHZ A BLOCK SPECTRUM

Transcription

1 SALE OF UPPER 700 MHZ A BLOCK SPECTRUM A Wireless Solution for Utilities and Critical Infrastructure Enterprises John Vislosky, Access Spectrum, LLC Q2 s2015

2 UPPER 700 MHZ A BLOCK The Upper 700 MHz A Block is a 2x1 MHz paired (2 MHz total) block of spectrum licensed by the FCC in 52 geographic areas called Major Economic Areas (MEAs) The A Block is 2x1 protected spectrum at MHz and MHz Upper 700 MHz licenses covering the entire United States and Gulf of Mexico and are controlled by Access Spectrum with 28 licenses & 2 other investment firms with 23 licenses & 1 license respectively The Price of the Spectrum is $0.75/MHz POP (approximately $450M nationwide for all licenses) Upper 700 MHz A Block Licenses cover approximately 313 million POPs Recent sale of 700 MHZ Spectrum at $1.89/MHz POP 2

3 UPPER 700 MHZ A BLOCK Northwestern Energy* GRE* SRP* A Block Licenses are being sold now by Economic Area Parcels (EAs) in all 50 States and US Territories *Note: Areas in RED Indicate Licenses Purchased/Under Agreement, April 2015, Pending FCC Approval 3

4 4 700 MHZ A BLOCK SALE UPDATE SALE: NorthWestern Energy (NWE) Signed a Purchase Agreement 3/23/15 for States of Montana and South Dakota SALE: Salt River Project (SRP) Signed a Purchase Agreement 4/6/15 for State of Arizona and in specific Phoenix-Mesa Economic Area Both utilities found the process easier than expected, quick & uncomplicated, Access Spectrum is very flexible Access Spectrum handled the majority of the FCC Filings Cooperative agreement signed with Great River Energy on adjacent geography and then quickly approved by the FCC for NWE purchase Transfer Complete and NWE operational within days (predicated on the FCC)

5 700 MHZ A BLOCK SALT RIVER PROJECT PILOT Salt River Project (Arizona) requested a Proof of Concept Pilot to verify absence of interference, spectrum efficiency, and equipment capabilities; Pilot was conducted in Arizona on SRP s urban territory between 3 September and 23 December 2014; Pilot was to assess fixed data and mobile data capabilities and determine if there was any interference by the tenants in adjunct spectrum (Verizon or other); Access Spectrum, LLC helped SRP define the Pilot requirements and identifying equipment manufacturers; Final Pilot project granted by SRP to ConVergence Technologies (assisted by Walker and Associates and Memorylink); Access Spectrum filed the Temporary Spectrum Use Agreement with the FCC on August The FCC granted the Agreement on August 29 th (in less than 24 hours & on the Friday before Labor Day). 5

6 6 700 MHZ A BLOCK SALT RIVER PROJECT PILOT RESULTS* Bottom-line conclusion: the 700 MHz A Block Spectrum is definitely suitable for SRP s use. Coupled with the selection of proper architecture and equipment this Spectrum can fulfill all of SRP s requirements *The full information is available in the Salt River 700 MHz Field Test Report dated January 20, 2015 via the UTC Website or by contacting Access Spectrum, LLC): (Copyrighted 2015 ConVergence and Memorylink)

7 700 MHZ A BLOCK SALT RIVER PROJECT PILOT RESULTS* Single Point to Point User throughput.75 Mbps (No error correction was implemented) Cell site capacity is 2.4 Mbps/ MHz of Spectrum * The full information is available in the Salt River 700 MHz Field Test Report dated January 20, 2015 via the UTC Website or by contacting Access Spectrum, LLC): (Copyrighted 2015 ConVergence and Memorylink) 7

8 700 MHZ A BLOCK SALT RIVER PROJECT PILOT RESULTS* No adjunct tenant interference (Further buffered by correct architecture and technology) Excellent Propagation and coverage characteristics Results will improve with the increase of ERP (SRP limited the Pilot to 2 Watts ERP) Again Bottom-line conclusion: the 700 MHz A Block Spectrum is definitely suitable for SRP s use. * The full information is available in the Salt River 700 MHz Field Test Report dated January 20, 2015 via the UTC Website or by contacting Access Spectrum, LLC): (Copyrighted 2015 ConVergence and Memorylink) 8

9 9 UPPER 700 MHZ A BLOCK FAVORABLE FCC RULES AND SPECTRUM ATTRIBUTES Unencumbered/clear and licensed spectrum Offers superior propagation characteristics (building penetration and rural coverage) relative to other bands Is governed by flexible service and technical rules which permit a wide range of technologies and applications (Voice, SCADA, Telemetry, and other Data applications) Base Station transmissions < 1000 watts ERP on the Lower Frequency and < 30 watts ERP on the Higher Frequency Antenna Height < 305 Meters (1000 Feet) HAAT. Identified 20+ equipment manufactures who currently can provide equipment in 700 MHz A Block (NRE may be required)

10 10 UPPER 700 MHZ A BLOCK FAVORABLE FCC RULES AND SPECTRUM ATTRIBUTES No Build out requirements Rules call for Substantial Use Defined as service which is sound, favorable and substantially above a level of mediocre service which just might minimally warrant renewal. Safe Harbor : providing a signal that covers 50% of the population in the geographic area covered by the license. A licensee is not required to meet the safe harbor test; it may seek to show substantial service in other ways. Ease of renewal The current term for A Block licenses expires on June 13, Prior to expiration date licenses must file an application to renew licenses for a new ten year term

11 11 UPPER 700 MHZ A BLOCK DATA deployment in either FDD and/or TDD FCC Type Acceptance for TDD (WiMax ) equipment 1/20/14 Demonstrated: Compliance with FCC rules No interference with adjacent operations Ability to pass data at ~700 kbps using 500 khz TDD channel Estimated that with customized equipment each 1 MHz channel would pass data at > 1.5 Mbps Great River Energy (GRE) has been a Leased Customer since 2005 on the ASL Spectrum with a Point to Multipoint Solution. Possibility of combining A Block with 500 KHz of leased Spectrum from D Block to create an LTE Channel Coalition Document

12 EQUIPMENT AND CONSULTING VENDORS SUPPORTING 700 MHZ A BLOCK Full Spectrum XetaWave T3 Wireless ConVergence Technologies//MemoryLink Walker and Associates Carlson Wireless 20+ Manufacturers are now expressing strong interest in supporting the 700 MHz A Block Spectrum Band 12

13 13 MOST COMMON APPLICATIONS AND SOLUTIONS Automation Distribution Fixed data to augment existing systems or replace aging systems Mobile Data Solution Point to Point data backhaul (need for increased security) Unmanned Aircraft, Land Craft or Surface Craft Fly the Lines (Distribution, Pipelines, Rural Sites) Substation and Overall Security Remote Sensing ( Data Scooping )

14 SALE OF UPPER 700 MHZ A BLOCK SPECTRUM Available Now For Exclusive Use for UAV Beyond Line of Sight Flight Control Systems (BLOS)

15 UAV Program Information FAA is creating commercial rules now for Beyond Line of Sight Flight (BLOS) Met with the FAA on and the Director UAV Program Services confirmed that the FAA will require licensed spectrum for flight controls of Small Category UAVs (suas) Beyond Line of Sight and Over Populated Areas; 700 MHz A Block is a proposed frequency band for BLOS More than adequate band width because it is exclusive and licensed spectrum 12.5 khz 900 MHz does require 5 MHz or greater due to the amount of interference Full integration for new UAV programs through Praxis Aerospace Systems International one stop UAV shop coupled with exclusive spectrum Data Scooping and Video Downloads- State of the art software and the optimization of remaining spectrum at 700 MHz A Block 2x 1 MHz paired-provides more than adequate bandwidth for both video and data collection and sensing etc.

16 UTILITY ECOSYSTEM FOR TERRESTRIAL BEYOND LINE OF SIGHT UAV

17 17 NEXT STEPS FOR PURCHASE 1. Access Spectrum is in the process of Parceling its Upper 700 MHz Licenses now to Individual CII and Utilities for Purchase 2. Contact Access Spectrum s, John Vislosky, to set up an immediate meeting and/or for information and Economic Area Map (EA) to determine the Licenses you wish to purchase 3. Access Spectrum will confirm your Licensed Geographies and prepare a simple Term Sheet to review terms and investment 4. If a proof of concept pilot is required we suggest it runs concurrently with finalizing the purchase 5. Once the Purchase Agreement is fully executed and payment made Access Spectrum will coordinate with your company and the FCC to transfer the licenses.

18 WHAT DOES $0.75/MHZ-POP MEAN? According to the US Census the average American household size in 2013 was 2.54 people. The total price of building out the infrastructure (as estimated by LCC) to exploit the A Block is roughly three(3) times the price of the spectrum for a total cost of $7.62 per household. According to EIA in 2013 the average annual electricity bill per household ranged from approx $960 (Utah and Illinois) to $2400 (Hawaii) Conclusion: It means that with a less than 1% improvement in overall efficiency The Utility can recover the investment in spectrum and infrastructure in less than a year (even for areas with the lowest priced annual consumption)

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20 20 CONTACT INFORMATION John Vislosky, Access Spectrum, LLC Office: (301) Cell: (240) Robert Finch, Select Spectrum/Beach Point Capital Office: (703) Cell: (703)

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