The National Spectrum Strategy being developed by the administration is predicted to influence U.S. policy to expand capacity and increase efficiency of available spectrum. Panelists discussed spectrum sharing models being used between the federal government and commercial users at the 12th Americas Spectrum Management Conference in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday.
Arthur DeLeon, Director, Strategic Spectrum Policy, Department of the Navy, said, “From the Department of Defense standpoint, we’ve been sharing for the past 70 years,” between departments. He noted that “co-existence is key.”
DeLeon said the military is looking at how to develop “spectrum at rest and spectrum on-demand. I should be able to connect at any time on the network.”
Cable continues to play a role in driving wireless technology, according to Comcast Head of Wireless Partnerships & Development Justin Markle. He cited Comcast’s 12.9 million cable mobile subscribers. He said Comcast’s CBRS licenses show “promising results to-date.”
Markle cited CBRS as a sharing success story three years after its launch, with both commercial and Navy users sharing spectrum with availability managed by a SAS administrator. He noted there were over 220 winning bidders in the FCC’s CBRS auction, compared to much lower numbers of companies winning licenses in typical FCC spectrum auctions.
CBRS licensees represent commercial companies, privately based systems and academia. This broad user base is “poised for future growth,” Markle said.
AT&T (NYSE: T) Assistant VP of Global Public Policy Jeff Stewart said there needs to be a detailed information exchange between government and commercial users to reach a point where sharing works. “It helps you to preserve use cases and put in place protective margins,” as well as reduce actions that can “eat into spectrum.”
“As talks get more granular, you can protect everybody,” said Stewart. He says AT&T is seeing this now in its 3.5 GHz talks with DoD. These talks are necessary, he explained, “to get the most out of our licenses.”
Stewart cautioned that sharing approaches need to be informed by real-world data. “If you don’t do that, you’re leaving spectrum on the table that is less effectively shared and less effectively used.” The needs of commercial and military users “are constantly changing,” as technology evolves, he added.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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