No MHz Left Behind

Rick Kaplan, the Federal Communications Commission’s Wireless Bureau Chief, could not have been more correct when he declared his mission at this week’s open meeting to be “no MHz left behind.” Given the scarcity of available spectrum – and the challenges the FCC is facing trying to free up new spectrum for mobile Internet use – ensuring that all licensed spectrum is fully and efficiently deployable is essential.

At this week’s Open Meeting, the FCC opened a proceeding to explore solutions for interoperability in the lower 700 MHz band. Some have and will continue to focus on only the narrow question of the use of two band classes in the lower band and whether the FCC should require the use of a single band class. These entities would like the FCC to simply ignore the significant interference challenges that led the 3GPP standards-setting body to create two band classes in the first place. But, contrary to what some carriers claim, it is not the existence of two band classes that is preventing lower A-block deployment.