Incumbent Informing Capability (IIC) for Time-Based Spectrum Sharing

Abstract

As the President's principal advisor on the regulation of the telecommunications industry, and policies relating to the Nation's economic and technological advancement, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), U.S. Department of Commerce programs and policymaking focus largely on protecting federal spectrum-based capabilities while expanding the availability of spectrum for all users. Managing core federal spectrum programs effectively and efficiently, identifying innovative approaches to increase spectrum access and sharing opportunities, and ensuring that the Internet remains an engine for continued economic growth, which promotes a 21st century Internet economy and expands broadband Internet access in America are a driving force for NTIA policy decisions. A key pillar of this policy is to increase spectrum access for all users through improved cooperation and collaboration between Federal and non-Federal spectrum stakeholders. This paper describes an Incumbent Informing Capability (IIC) for Time-Based Sharing, an innovative way to collaboratively, securely, and dynamically increase opportunistic spectrum access within spectrum allocations principally used by the federal government. The IIC is a mechanism for more reliably informing “new entrants” in a shared spectrum band when incumbent federal systems are operating in close proximity and thus need to be protected. New entrant access to the spectrum would be controlled through an enhanced, near-real-time Spectrum Coordination System (SCS). The IIC could replace extra layers of sharing techniques such as the environmental sensing capability (ESC), which presently is required by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for the Citizen Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) in the 3550-3700 MHz band. IIC has several potential benefits including support for mid-band spectrum sharing, reduced dependence on environmental sensing, more secure and reliable operations, and improved incumbent control of real-time spectrum usage information. Mid-band spectrum (between 1 GHz and 10 GHz) is valuable for broadband mobile wireless (e.g., 5G) communications because of its favorable propagation characteristics combined with potential for large individual channel bandwidth. This paper describes the concept for the IIC solution including operational needs and proposed business processes. It outlines how the IIC could be employed to enable spectrum sharing in the CBRS 3550-3650 MHz band and the 3450–3550 MHz band with potential for application to other bands in the future. Successful implementation of IIC will require interdisciplinary collaboration across institutions to apply AI/machine learning, secure distributed processing and data storage, and automated aggregate interference analysis. We expect the capability to evolve over time toward a dynamic spectrum sharing paradigm in selected bands where “everyone informs”, building on work demonstrated in the DARPA Spectrum Collaboration Challenge (SC2) that can more fully optimize the use of spectrum. The work is relevant to US global leadership in 5G and beyond, inspiring innovation and further research into advanced dynamic spectrum sharing.