NAB General Counsel Rick Kaplan, in a statement issued last night, urged the FCC to move forward on the Next Gen TV proceedings being held today in Washington setting the stage for the next generation of wireless services.
“At its monthly open meeting [today], the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) votes on an order setting the stage for the next generation of wireless services. The order – part of the “Spectrum Frontiers” proceeding – will make expansive amounts of high band spectrum available for wireless services, including next-generation 5G service. This vote will come just nine months after the FCC issued its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) seeking comment on this matter,” Kaplan said.
“That’s an admirably fast track, particularly given the scope of the proceeding. To get here, the FCC had to evaluate numerous new spectrum bands for expanded wireless operations – a total of more than 10 GHz of new spectrum – and consider appropriate service rules authorizing mobile operations in those bands. These rules include a combination of licensed use, a commercial-to-commercial shared access regime, and unlicensed use, as well as provisions to protect incumbent federal government uses in some bands,” he said.
“NAB commends the Commission for moving with such speed to lay the groundwork for the next generation of wireless services. We hope the Commission will move at least as quickly when it comes to the next generation of television service. In fact, the Next Generation TV proceeding should be much easier; the Commission does not need to authorize new spectrum sharing regimes or provide broadcasters with additional spectrum,” Kaplan said.
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