FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr says he’s working on a plan to open up more spectrum in the C-Band for wireless use — one that goes beyond what’s on the table so far.
“One proposal involves clearing about 200 MHz out of a total of 500 MHz of spectrum,” Carr explained to attendees of the annual convention of the Wireless Internet Service Providers Association in Cincinnati, Ohio on Wednesday. “I think we can do better,” he said.
Carr believes more than 200 MHz will be needed in big cities. “I’m working on a plan to clear more spectrum,” he emphasized. Carr believes the agency needs to accomplish the task this year.
His colleague, Commissioner Michael O’Rielly too, is working on the C-band issue. Last month, he told broadcasters lobbying with the NAB that he would only sign-off on a proposal that protects incumbent C-band users, Inside Towers reported. Broadcasters and the satellite industry use C-band to distribute programming. They say there’s no reasonably-priced alternative spectrum that has the same high transmission qualities as C-band and are concerned about the potential for interference from wireless users.
The discussion switched to Citizens Broadband Radio Service, a 150 MHz wide broadcast band of the 3.5 GHz spectrum. Some of the spectrum will still be used for U.S. Naval radar systems, but a portion will be shared with wireless providers. In 2017, the FCC established rules for commercial use of the band. The CBRS Alliance and WISPA have an agreement to cooperate and advance the band.
WISPA President Claude Aiken, told Carr the FCC did not license areas as small as members wanted. During a Q&A, he asked Carr how members can work with the agency on CBRS, noting that many WISPs have fewer than 500 subscribers.
“We still have work to do” on that issue, “and your participation is going to be important,” said Carr. That “underscores why we need to keep you all front and center” of any CBRS discussions.
Carr described meeting WISPs on some of his travels, like Tyler, who runs one with his brother in Partner, SD using a fiber connection from a water tower 180 feet off the ground. “That was the first water tower I climbed,” said Carr. “Now, it seems I’m not allowed back in Washington unless I put on a hard hat and climb something,” whether “a tower or a grain elevator.”
He called WISPs “scrappy” in their determination and ingenuity in bringing broadband to rural communities. “You get your hands dirty in your drive to reach hard places” and bring those online, Carr said. Comments? Email Us.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
March 21, 2019
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