After last week’s House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on “Challenges and Opportunities in the 5 GHz Spectrum Band,” we have a much better sense of what the future holds for this proceeding. The FCC has heard from dozens of stakeholders on this issue through public comments and meetings and is expected to issue the first set of new rules for the 5 GHz spectrum band sometime early next year. There seemed to be a consensus on some of the less controversial aspects of this issue, such as lifting unnecessary and outdated restrictions to prevent interference in the 5 GHz band, which these first rules will cover.
However, there are a number of issues that don’t have clear solutions, and those just happen to be the most important issues of all for SMBs – namely, figuring out how to make an additional 195 MHz of spectrum in the 5 GHz band available for unlicensed use. That 195 MHz can actually be broken into two distinct sub-bands: 120 MHz from 5.35 to 5.47 GHz (the U-NII-2B band) and 75 MHz from 5.85-5.925 GHz (the U-NII-4 band).
The U-NII-2B band is currently home to a number of federal operations such as Earth exploration satellites and radio-navigation. There are a number of complex issues that need resolution on both the national and international levels before unlicensed users can begin sharing this spectrum. Given the vast number of stakeholders and the complexity of the issues involved, we are likely several years away from getting this band into the hands of the public.
On the other hand, the U-NII-4 band could be made available for unlicensed use much sooner. The push for unlicensed use of spectrum in this band is facing a much less daunting barrier – the auto industry, and this conflict was the primary focus of last week’s hearing. In 1999, the FCC allocated this band for use by the auto industry for dedicated, short-range communication (DSRC) so that cars could communicate with one another for safety purposes. Now that Congress and the FCC are proposing that this spectrum be made available for unlicensed use, they’re putting up a fight and raising concerns about interference in the band.
While interference concerns are legitimate, they are far from a death knell for using this spectrum for Wi-Fi. First off, the car companies don’t need all 75 MHz for DSRC, and in fact may only need 10 MHz to accomplish their goals. That leaves a lot of free spectrum in the band for Wi-Fi. Second, Qualcomm and Cisco have both come up with potential solutions to the interference problem, but these ideas will need to be tested before put to use.
SMBs will benefit greatly from gaining access to the 75 MHz of unlicensed spectrum in the U-NII-4 band, as it will open the door for gigabit Wi-Fi and opportunities for innovation. It’s essential that SMBs make their voices heard on the Hill and at the FCC to ensure that the auto industry does not derail this process. There are solutions out there, and the FCC and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) need to begin the testing process now so that this spectrum can be made available as quickly as possible.
