With Greater Frequency:

Transcription

1 With Greater Frequency: National Initiatives to Find More Radio Spectrum for Broadband Chip Yorkgitis Kelley Drye & Warren LLP 15 January 2017

2 Current Conditions Drive Regulatory Consideration of Spectrum Sharing Explosive increases in mobile data requirements and connected devices fuel demand for more efficient use of and greater access to a scarce asset: spectrum. Insert your favorite example here! Essential problem is increasing bits/s/hz/km 2 The pressure for implementing sharing increases when it becomes harder to clear spectrum to allow providers access to new spectrum on an exclusive basis Especially true in bands below 6 GHz which historically was where most licensing has taken place and where there long have been incumbent users (e.g., government, commercial, satellite, broadcasting) Low band spectrum is seen as essential for coverage networks 2

3 Regulatory Consideration of Spectrum Sharing (cont d) Recent national spectrum policies, plans, and initiatives increasingly call for consideration of spectrum sharing --for example, in UK, Europe, Japan, Korea, China in harmonized mobile bands around GHz Japan: GHz (and GHz) Korea: China: GHz UK: GHz and GHz Europe: GHz Increased push for global or regional harmonization of spectrum bands, e.g., to achieve scale for new technologies (i.e.,5g) often causes national regulators to confront issues of access to already-occupied bands 3

4 US Attitudes Toward Spectrum Sharing 2010 Presidential memorandum called for 500 MHz of new spectrum to be made available for commercial use within 10 years Initial focus on relocation has given way to sharing, especially following the 2012 Report of the President s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) which promoted spectrum sharing as a new norm: The new radio system architecture should involve wide bands and implement dynamic, real-time, spectrum sharing.... What inhibits greater sharing of spectrum is not lack of technology, but regulatory and economic obstacles changes to the Federal Spectrum Relocation Fund enhanced the ability of agencies to conduct research to determine whether federal systems can share spectrum with other federal or non-federal users. Mobile Now Act, reintroduced in the Senate January 3, 2017, states preference for relocation over sharing and would require the FCC and NTIA to assess the viability spectrum sharing in the and GHz bands and mandate making additional 255 GHz available for commercial use below 6 GHz What the Trump Administration's priority for relocation v. sharing regimes will be remains unclear 4

5 Sharing Methods Ever More Complex* Increasing complexity of access * Not an exhaustive list Channelization frequency diversity Geographic separation (site- or area-specific, contours, power limits) Access priority License terms Secondary markets (e.g., spectrum leases) Access controlled by databases (e.g., white spaces) Build out/use requirements -Use it or lose it Geographic protection freeze incumbent s ability to expand Spatial diversity of operations (e.g., orientation of paths) Use it or share it Dynamic access controlled by an administrator Dynamic access controlled by user device (e.g., detect before transmit) Dynamic access based on system monitoring Over time sharing methods increasingly complex to minimize spectrum that remains unused in both space and time dimensions 5 Decreasing certainty of access

6 Commercial Licensing of the 3.5 GHz Band April 2015 FCC Order: established a new Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) for the MHz band which will share with incumbent federal government (e.g., naval and ground-based radars), fixed satellite service, and commercial users as well as with each other Sharing framework largely affirmed in May 2016 reconsideration order Three Tiers of Authorized Use with Declining Priority Incumbent Access (Federal government and other existing users) CBRS Priority Access Licensees (PAL) (individual licenses) CBRS General Authorized Access (GAA) (licensed by rule) No commercial operations are permitted in incumbent exclusion zones Outside of exclusion zones, spectrum will be dynamically shared among 6 incumbent and commercial users under a Spectrum Access System using an

7 Overview of CBRS PAL Rules 3.5 GHz Band (cont d) Licensing: PALs will be awarded by auction for a 3-year term; no renewal expectancy Licensed Frequencies 10 MHz unpaired channels operating in the MHz band; each license will not have a static frequency but will provide priority use of one channel Number of Licenses and Area: The FCC can award up to 7 licenses (70 MHz) in each area (census tract); number of licenses equals number of bidders per tract minus one (except in rural census tracts for the first license) Spectrum Aggregation: Each licensee may obtain 4 licenses (40 MHz) in each census tract, including secondary market access Overview of CBRS GAA Rules Frequencies for Operations MHz Licensed by Rule -- GAA users must use certified devices and register with SAS(s) 7

8 3.5 GHz Band (cont d) December 2016: FCC conditionally approved seven Spectrum Access System (SAS) Administrators SAS selectees must submit systems for compliance testing before final approval which may include a public testing period, testing of protections for incumbent systems, and field trials Public notices forthcoming The FCC still needs to Select Environmental Sensing Capability Operators Develop sharing protocols Establish rules and timetable for auctions of Priority Access Licenses Certify equipment WinnForum released specifications for device-sas and SAS-SAS communications in December 2016 some testing among SAS candidates already commenced Interest in the band and outlook for commercial use under sharing plan remains uncertain 8

9 2.3 GHz: Licensed Shared Access (LSA) U.S. 3.5 GHz framework often contrasted with Licensed Shared Access (LSA) framework under consideration in Europe ECC and CEPT reports, 2014 and 2015, respectively, defined LSA framework LSA licensee is granted exclusive use of the spectrum at a given time and location but obligated to protect incumbent licensees pursuant to voluntary sharing arrangement; incumbent retains long term rights to use the spectrum Potential application to the GHz band and possibly other bands in future Not a mandate up to national regulatory authorities whether and how to adopt Not yet implemented in any European country Pilots have occurred in several European countries e.g., France began pilot early 2016 and Italy recently completed six-month pilot (report in September 2016) 9

10 5.9 GHz Band: Wi-Fi and Connected Vehicles Sharing Prospects Wi-Fi proponents seek unlicensed use of 5.9 GHz ( MHz)spectrum earlier set aside by the FCC for licensed anti-crash, dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) systems. Wi-Fi proponents claim the spectrum can help satisfy the demand for unlicensed networks combining access to the 5.9 GHz band with 700 other megahertz of 5 GHz spectrum available for UNII (Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure) operations and that sharing is possible without causing harmful interference to connected-vehicle applications. The FCC Lab of the Office of Engineering and Technology sought comment on a three-phase sharing test plan on June 1, 2016, and to refresh the record in the docket (initiated in 2013) specifically focusing on the two methods of sharing under consideration: Detect-and-Vacate/Detect-and-Avoid (DSRC and Wi-Fi devices would share the entire 75 MHz band; unlicensed devices that detect DSRC operations would vacate the spectrum) Rechannelization (DSRC safety-of-life applications would use the upper 30 megahertz of the band, while Wi-Fi operations would share the remainder of the band with non-safety DSRC) 10

11 5.9 GHz (cont d) The FCC revised its test plan October 7, 2016, and met with interested parties October 21, 2016, to demonstrate the planned testing in Phase I of the test plan. FCC set deadline for itself of January 15, 2017, to complete testing. No recent indication of status of testing or the results. DSRC proponents cooperating with tests but remain skeptical. On December 13, 2016, The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of the Department of Transportation released a rulemaking notice proposing to require that all new passenger automobiles have vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) technology to help drivers avoid crashes subject to certain transition plans. 11

12 mmw Bands > 24 GHz: Spectrum Frontiers In July, 2016, the FCC adopted rules to create flexible use service (Upper Microwave Flexible Use Service or UMFUS ) in the 28 GHz ( GHz), 37 GHz ( GHz), and 39 GHz ( GHz) bands, spectrum considered essential to 5G roll out Also added to the existing unlicensed allocation in the GHz band and provide for unlicensed use in the GHz band FCC moved ahead of ITU and WRC-15 recommendations identifying certain mmw bands between and 86 GHz for further study to meet future needs of IMT UMFUS bands have only partial correspondence to WRC-15 recommendations Europe and several Asian countries feeling pressure to do the same, especially regarding GHz Incumbent LMDS licensees had their licenses converted to UMFUS. Satellite operations in the 28 GHz (secondary basis) and 39 GHz bands can continue to operate on a shared basis; fixed satellite service (FSS) licensees can upgrade the status of their earth stations with limited permission to expand gateway operations 12

13 Spectrum Frontiers (cont d) 13 petitions for reconsideration have been (December 2016); considerable focus is on sharing and compatibility between FSS licensees and UMFUS operators Simultaneous FNPRM to expand the scope of UMFUS to 18 gigahertz of additional mmw spectrum / GHz, GHz, GHz, GHz, GHz, GHz, GHz FCC also sought comment on requiring UMFUS licensees to use or share their licensed spectrum and uses of SAS in some bands (e.g., 70/80 GHz) Issues of sharing, especially between FSS and terrestrial use, will also be paramount in the FCC s consideration of these additional bands Boeing Corporation NGSO satellite application focuses on many of the same bands in the Spectrum Frontiers proceeding between 37 and 52 GHz claims it can share with terrestrial users based on spatial diversity In December 2016, new FCC NPRM examining NGSO allocation, technical, and service rules but also matters of sharing between NGSO systems and non-satellite services/devices/platforms in the same bands 13

14 Policy Choices for Regulators Every successfully demonstrated or proposed new sharing method is a potential new tool others can use prior to success there may be skepticism to adopt or even consider Every sharing scenario is effectively unique to the bands and services at issue Whether and how to implement sharing in a given scenario assuming technical feasibility involves policy questions regulators have to balance based on local national conditions such as Is there a need to maximize value of spectrum? Will diminished certainty of access and use inhibit investment and deployment? Does the administration favor a market-based approach to access? Will innovation and competition be fostered by lowering barriers to access spectrum? Will economies of scale be promoted through immediate access? Do the incumbent users perform a critical mission? What is the cost of relocation of the incumbents and/or a given sharing mechanism and how to pay for it? How immediate is the demand for access to the bands at issue? 14

15 Thank you. Questions? Chip Yorkgitis Partner, Kelley Drye & Warren LLP (202)