Unlicensed

In April 2020, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to free up 1,200 megahertz of spectrum in the 6 GHz band for unlicensed use, earning cheers from Wi-Fi and fixed wireless groups. But more than two years on, scuffles between industry associations representing cable, broadcasting, utility and public safety interests have left the future of the 6 GHz band in limbo. The spectrum is extremely important to cable operators and operators in general because it enables cable companies to offer the fastest service not only to your home but within your home via Wi-Fi technology.

The “future of spectrum is sharing.” Basically, the airwaves are now so crowded that the old model of “clear and auction” federal spectrum is unsustainable for a society as connected as ours. With Wi-Fi 7 coming up, we will need channel sizes of 320 MHz of contiguous spectrum to get the benefits. Despite doomsday predictions from incumbents that any change in existing spectrum rules would cause massive destructive interference with valuable existing services, the Federal Communication Commission's engineers successfully evaluated the evidence and created rules that brought us new wireless s

The fast-developing 6 GHz IMT ecosystem is poised to play an important role in supporting 5G rollouts worldwide, according to the GSMA 2022 6 GHz IMT Ecosystem report. The report discusses the development progress of 6 GHz IMT systems and the central role that 6 GHz will play in delivering successful 5G rollouts. It warns that allocating the full 6 GHz band to unlicensed use risks countries losing out on the full benefits of scarce spectrum resources and damaging their ability to maximize the societal impact of governments’ and operators’ investments in 5G networks.

The Senate Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications, Media, and Broadband held a hearing entitled Future of Spectrum to examine the management of spectrum. The Federal Communications Commission's spectrum auction authority is set to expire at the end of September. Congress has a unique opportunity to set future spectrum priorities and coordination goals to encourage efficient spectrum use. The hearing aimed to examine important policy considerations to ensure spectrum is utilized for the greatest benefit to the public.

One of the biggest surprises in the rules that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) issued for the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) rural broadband funding program was the agency’s definition of “reliable broadband”—at least with regard to fixed wireless. While fixed wireless using “entirely licensed spectrum or a hybrid of licensed and unlicensed spectrum” was considered “reliable,” fixed wireless “relying entirely on unlicensed spectrum” was not.

The Federal Communications Commission voted to create a new Enhanced Competition Incentive Program (ECIP) to establish incentives for wireless licensees to make underutilized spectrum available to small carriers, Tribal Nations, and entities serving rural areas. The new program encourages licensees to partition, disaggregate, or lease spectrum to better match available spectrum resources with entities that seek to provide needed services to under-connected communities.

Resound Networks, a winning bidder in the Federal Communications Commission's Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) auction, has successfully achieved gigabit speeds using fixed wireless access (FWA) in the 6 GHz band via an experimental license. The company reached a distance of more than three miles using 160 MHz-wide channels that will become available in the band. Fixed wireless providers have big hopes for the 6 GHz band, which contains a wide swath of spectrum that will be available on an unlicensed basis. The FCC voted in 2020 to free up spectrum in the band. 

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel responded to letters by members of Congress inquiring about the FCC's spectrum auction program. In separate letters to House Representatives and Senators, Rosenworcel responded to questions about related topics including upcoming spectrum auctions, specific frequencies that may be good candidates for auction, and policy changes the agency can make to improve the program.

The government is working to transfer some federally-used spectrum to the private sector to help build mobile broadband networks, including 5G. The National Telecommunications and Information Agency (NTIA) facilitates these transfers, which can be complex and take years. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that NTIA lacks a formal process for planning these transfers. We recommended that it develop one to help address challenges and risks before they arise.

The Federal Communications Commission adopted two orders resolving pending issues associated with white space devices and the white spaces databases. The actions will provide additional certainty to white space device users, manufacturers, and database administrators to enable unlicensed white space devices to operate efficiently and protect other spectrum users, in particular wireless microphone users.