Odds Against FCC, NTIA in Search for Spectrum Test Bed

The test bed program has struggled since being proposed 2 years ago. Initially, it ran into opposition within the FCC, which at one point floated using 2155-2165 MHz for its part of the test bed -- a proposal that proved unworkable, sources said. NTIA and FCC don’t have a clear idea which spectrum to use, a regulatory source said: “They hit a wall and said, ‘We can’t do this ourselves -- let’s seek comment.'”

“My guess is it’s not going to happen,” said a source at a company following the proceeding. “This was part of the presidential initiative, and we've been supportive of the concept, but it took them 2 years to get this out. My guess is they'll find it’s difficult to really identify pieces of spectrum that could be set aside… It’s the problem we always have. There is no spectrum that’s unused.”

DoD could be a winner if the test bed works as planned. For example, sources said, DoD could use the bed to test gear that also works in commercial bands, cutting its radio buying costs. Spectrum sharing also could help land mobile operators seeking enough spectrum to offer broadband.

Onlookers generally endorsed opening a test bed. Shared Spectrum called it “a unique opportunity for the Commission and NTIA to truly facilitate innovation and spectrum sharing” in comments filed at the FCC. Shared Spectrum, which has researching spectrum sharing for the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency’s (DARPA) Next Generation Communications program, will take “full advantage of this test-bed opportunity to further demonstrate the advantages of dynamic spectrum sharing,” it said. To be effective, the govt. should make available spectrum below 1 GHz, with at least 2.5 MHz of contiguous bandwidth, Shared Spectrum said: “If adequate and appropriate spectrum is expeditiously made available, the NTIA/FCC test-bed will allow [Shared Spectrum] and others to immediately and significantly expand the development and accelerate the deployment of innovative spectrum sharing systems for both govt. and non-government users.”

Motorola said if possible the govt. should create 2 test beds -- above 4 GHz and below one GHz. “The greatest gains will come from allowing implementation in a variety of bands and looking at sharing between different types of services,” Motorola said: “These 2 programs together will allow broader experimentation with innovative spectrum sharing techniques in a way that should ultimately improve spectrum utilization and efficiency.”

The test bed shouldn’t be in congested areas of the band and should be controlled by the govt., not used to develop a single proprietary technology, Cingular said. NTIA and the FCC need to focus on how and why they use the bed, it said. “Test-beds that merely permit the evaluation of new technologies will not be informative unless the tests are designed to achieve a common goal,” the carrier said.

CTIA backs the test bed and similar efforts because they “create opportunities to examine ways to enhance efficient use of spectrum,” it said. But the bed mustn’t interfere with wireless carrier use of spectrum, and needs close govt. monitoring, CTIA said. A test bed would provide “a boost toward achieving [the] spectrum policy goal of effective and efficient use of the country’s finite spectrum assets,” Progeny said.

Chmn. Martin and Comrs. Adelstein and Copps agreed more spectrum sharing was important when the FCC sought comment on creation of a test bed in June. Copps asked why the FCC had taken 2 years to put out a notice seeking advice on the test bed.