Summary of a Forum on Spectrum Management Policy Reform (2004) / Chapter Skim
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Summary of Remarks Made by Forum Panelists
Summary of Remarks Made by Forum Panelists
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Regarding the efficiency of federal spectrum use, the panelists noted the following: · Federal spectrum allocation and assignment processes provide greater flexibility than does the process of allocating and assigning nonfederal spectrum, which tends to be more serviceand use-specific. This gives federal users greater freedom, for example, to exploit technological innovation and thus the potential for more efficient use.
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· Spectrum sharing is central to the next generation of global positioning systems, for which frequency allocations will support both public- and private-sector use. Comments by panelists regarding possible changes in spectrum management policy included these: · Changes to spectrum management policy should balance potential economic benefits against current and future needs of federal users.
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· Passive uses raise particular concerns about proposals made in the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC's) Spectrum Policy Task Force report.3 First, remotesensing systems depend on detecting signals significantly weaker than the existing noise floor level tolerated by commercial systems, raising questions about how one would establish permissible interference levels in remote-sensing bands.
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At an organizational level, it requires coordination between local first responders, local elected officials, and state and federal leaders. Current interoperability guidelines produced by the Department of Homeland Security's SAFECOM program and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)
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One particularly useful outcome anticipated from the presidential initiative would be a concise summary of what spectrum users, regulators, and Congress should be doing to improve spectrum policy over the next 5 to 10 years. · Areas under current FCC consideration include cognitive radios,6 receiver standards,7 interference temperature,8 standards for broadband over power lines,9 and the identification of 5Michael Gallagher, National Telecommunications and Information Administration, Department of Commerce; John Muleta, Wireless Telecommunications Branch, Federal Communications Commission; Julius Knapp, Office of Engineering and Technology, Federal Communications Commission; Andrea Petro, Office of Management and Budget; and David Siddall, Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP.
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extending the FCC's auction authority, due to expire in 2007. Panelists also raised a number of questions to be explored further in spectrum management reform initiatives, including these: · How many of the 90,000 frequency assignments require thorough review, and which areas deserve the highest focus?
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Panelists also offered several suggestions for improving spectrum management policies: · Amateur radio operators have long made successful use of dynamic frequency assignment by applying a listen-before-transmit rule and asking if a given channel is occupied before transmitting. · Software tools used by commercial frequency coordination and management organizations, such as geographical information systems and databases, and the best practices of those organizations could be useful in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of federal spectrum management.
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CELLULAR CARRIERS In session 6A, panelists from two national cellular carriers, Cingular Wireless and Verizon Wireless, and an industry association, the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association (CTIA) ,12 discussed the impact of spectrum policy on cellular voice and data services.
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· Panelists saw opportunities with respect to public safety spectrum use, both to improve the spectral efficiency of these services and to establish new mechanisms for sharing or trading public safety spectrum in exchange for priority access to commercial services. BROADCASTING SERVICES In Session 6B, panelists from a broadcast industry association, a broadcaster , and a satellite service provider13 discussed spectrum policy on terrestrial broadcasting and associated satellite services.
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Instead, such increases should be viewed as providing an opportunity to offer more channels and services, which in turn provides an economic incentive for the investment in the analog-to-digital migration. · Spectrum policies based on definitions of spectral efficiency that emphasize increasing the number of spectrum users will harm the internal efficiency efforts of existing spectrum users.
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These rules should be flexible enough to permit continued technology evolution. On the subject of licensed and unlicensed spectrum, speakers made several points, including the following: · Licensed and unlicensed approaches to managing spectrum play useful roles for different technologies and applications, and both support increasing spectral efficiency.
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, and reduce conflicts with regional regulations when portable devices are taken to other countries. WI-FI AND BROADBAND WIRELESS ACCESS TECHNOLOGIES In Session 8, panelists from several firms involved in wireless LAN and broadband technologies16 discussed the implications of these technologies for spectrum management policy.
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identify additional unlicensed spectrum or opportunities for spectrum underlay for wireless broadband. · Policies should reward more efficient, flexible, and intelligent technologies that permit incremental moves toward a more open, shared approach to spectrum management and allocation.
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One is a spectrum policy service that uses an Internet connection to provide a network layer service that identifies what is operating within a given locality. Another approach, a spectrum etiquette protocol, would use a common wireless signaling channel rather than an Internet connection.
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