Spectrum Policy Research Articles

Does Today's FCC Have Sufficient Decision Making Throughput to Handle the 21st Century Spectrum Policy Workload?

Today’s FCC is not as well structured to handle the reality of its spectrum policy workload as the early Commission was and may not be even keeping up with workload. Indeed, there is increasing evidence that “triage” is a key issue in spectrum policy. That is the nontransparent decision to even address an issue is a major determinant of its outcome. This could be both deterring capital formation for new spectrum technology R&D as well as creating real risks for incumbent licensees since emerging interference issues that need rulemaking or nonroutine action are not getting resolved in a timely way.In 1934, the new FCC took a page from the structure of the ICC, one of its predecessors, and divided the then 7 commissioners into 3 “divisions” that could operate independently in the police areas of telephone, telegraph, and radio. There was no Administrative Procedures Act (“APA”) so rule deliberations were far simpler than today. The maximum frequency in routine use was 2 MHz and the modulation choices were just AM and radiotelegraphy. In the early days, a few of the commissioners had technical experience in spectrum issues.Today we have the APA and nearly 70 years of court decisions than make rulemaking much more complicated. We have 5 commissioners that only make decisions en banc with virtually no §5(c) delegation to staff on emerging issues. Allocations go to 275 GHz, but service rules have been stuck at a 95 GHz limit since 2003. The selection process for commissioners appears to be focused on nonspectrum and nontechnical issues.The result of all these factors is long drawn out deliberations on both new technology issues and on resolution of merging interference issues. While the US’ economic competitor nations often use “state capitalism” as a key issue in spectrum policy by subsidizing chosen new technologies and then cooperating to remove national and international spectrum policy limits for them, US entities in spectrum R&D often face both a lack of funding and an indifferent FCC (as well as NTIA - if access to G or G/NG spectrum is at issue).The paper looks at a variety of spectrum policy issues FCC had dealt with since 2000 and examine the delays involved and their impacts. The issues consider include new technology issues such as the TV White Space, the FWCC 43 GHz petition and the Battelle 105 GHz petition as well as emerging interference issues such as police radar detector/VSAT interference, cellular booster-related interference, and FM broadcast/700 MHz LTE interference. The time lines of such deliberations will be reviewed as well as the likely impact of these timelines on the business plans of FCC regulatees.Finally possible options to improve FCC throughput that are both feasible within existing legislation and consider approaches successfully used in foreign spectrum regulators will be discussed.

Technologies and Policies to Connect the Next Five Billion

In this Article, we present a broadband deployment framework describing how “the next five billion” may be connected to the Internet in the future. This framework identifies the most promising Internet technologies and the areas where they should be deployed. To summarize, we see wireless platforms being used in rural markets and other areas that will benefit greatly from a high degree of shared infrastructure, particularly with an electrical powering solution. Over time, fiber-based networks will gradually fill across the network, migrating from the core to the edge. In our research, we also describe and promote a certain set of policies (many of which may not require laws) that will facilitate the prompt and efficient deployment of broadband infrastructure. These policies include (1) promoting shared infrastructure, (2) liberalizing spectrum policy, (3) facilitating access and interconnection through Internet exchange points, (4) creating an ecosystem that stimulates demand for broadband (and associated innovation, entrepreneurship, and technical experimentation), and (5) sharing information and discussing best practices among parties with common interests within geographical regions. © 2014 David Reed, Jennifer Haroon & Patrick S. Ryan. † The Principle Investigator for this project is David P. Reed, Ph.D., otherwise authors are listed alphabetically. Author David Reed is Faculty Director and Scholar in Residence at the University of Colorado Interdisciplinary Telecommunications Program. Author Jennifer Haroon is a Principal, Access Strategy and Operations at Google. Author Patrick S. Ryan, Ph.D., is Senior Policy Counsel for International Relations and Free Expression at Google and Senior Affiliated Researcher at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium). The opinions expressed here are those of the authors and do not reflect the opinions of their employers. 1206 BERKELEY TECHNOLOGY LAW JOURNAL [Vol. 29:1205

Spectrum policy and wireless innovation

It is often said these days that "technology moves at Internet speed." One thing that differentiates wireless technology, which is the subject of this publication, from most other technologies in the field of interest of the IEEE global community is that it is regulated much more than other electrotechnologies. For example, if one makes a breakthrough in semiconductor device technology or computer display technology, one can develop the breakthrough in secrecy until it is time to market the technology. Such technologies need no a priori government approvals, except perhaps for routine approvals related to safety issues or unintentional RF emissions.

Overestimating Wireless Demand: Policy and Investment Implications of Upward Bias in Mobile Data Forecasts

It is now taken almost as a matter of faith among telecommunications professionals that there is a “spectrum crunch” precipitated by ever-growing demand for mobile broadband. This, in turn, has driven a strong policy consensus among industry and policymakers for the U.S. federal government to actively make available to mobile network operators (MNOs) vast new swathes of spectral resources via exclusive-use licenses. In the National Broadband Plan, for example, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) argued that “[t]he growth of wireless broadband will be constrained if government does not make spectrum available to enable network expansion and technology upgrades.” The White House has taken up this cause as well, issuing a memorandum calling for 500 MHz of new spectrum to be made available for mobile and wireless broadband by 2020 and making new spectrum resources central to policies supporting “everything from smart phones to wireless broadband connectivity for laptops to new forms of machine-to-machine communication within a decade.” Similar efforts to free up spectrum for mobile broadband are taking place across the globe. It is indisputable that mobile connectivity, driven by new technological de-velopments in materials, miniaturization, and computing, has increased dra-matically around the world and radically transformed economic and social life. Both mobile subscriptions and the amount of data traversing mobile net-works has increased substantially in the past several years; by the end of 2014, there were an estimated 2.3 billion mobile broadband subscriptions globally, almost five times as many as in 2008. At the same time, decisions about spectrum should not and cannot be made lightly due to the physically limited nature of spectrum and the corresponding strong public interest in efficient spectrum allocation. Regulators must con-sider social, equity, public safety, environmental, and other factors in addition to economic impacts when determining whether and how to repurpose spec-trum. Furthermore, freeing up “new” spectrum is only one of several mecha-nisms for dealing with increasing mobile demand, and exclusive-use licenses are one among many different management options for spectrum bands. Alt-hough conventional spectrum wisdom highlights making new exclusive-use allocations available to MNOs, this may not be the most efficient or socially beneficial decision in all cases. It is exactly these kinds of concerns that led to calls in the National Broadband Plan for the U.S. government to make spectrum allocation and licensing data more accessible, as the “complexity of the [existing] system and the resulting lack of transparency and usability create impediments to public policy and limit the emergence of new technologies that could employ such data to optimize use of the spectrum automatically.” In this paper, we examine the provenance, reliability, and uses of mobile demand forecasts and find that several highly visible spectrum demand esti-mates over the past several years have exceeded actual traffic, which may have biased spectrum allocation decisions and policies in socially suboptimal ways. These reports include Cisco Visual Networking Index (VNI) esti-mates, which are commonly cited in government and industry reports, includ-ing the National Broadband Plan, as well as estimates endorsed in ITU’s WRC-07. We explore potential technological, economic, and sociological fac-tors that may drive these biases, as well as possible solutions and policy reme-dies. This paper is not meant to imply any deliberate misrepresentation from any party, although this is certainly possible when billions of dollars are at stake, as with spectrum policy. Rather, the paper investigates various potential sources of bias and methods to mitigate such risks, in the hopes that it might inform businesses, regulators, and the general public about how to better allocate and manage finite spectrum resources.Neither does this analysis imply that making any new, exclusive-use availa-ble for mobile broadband is the suboptimal policy decision. In the near future, such reallocations provide benefits to both MNOs and the general public through deficit reduction and economic multipliers. Rather, it suggests addi-tional caution and scrutiny are warranted for long-term spectrum policy deci-sions, rather than a blind faith about ever-increasing mobile data demand. In these cases, especially, policymakers should push for new, higher quality data before committing to long-term policies as well as favor flexibility and revers-ibility in their decision-making.

Implications of Incentive Auction : Focusing on key issues in U.S.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which regulates interstate and international communications in the United States, has established a plan to allocate high demand spectrum to the usage of mobile communication by inducing voluntary relinquishment from broadcasters. This plan was introduced by the National Broadband Plan as an incentive auction in 2010. The FCC suggested the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in 2012 and issued Report and Order (R&O) on May 2014 regarding the overall rules of incentive auctions expected to be implemented in mid-2015. The incentive auction attracts the attention of many countries because this policy suggests a novel approach regarding the alteration of use from an inefficient usage to an efficient usage in limited spectrum resources. In this paper, we define the key issues in order for implementation of incentive auction. Since the incentive auction is a highly complicated process compared to previous allocation procedures, a careful review of the incentive auction regarding whether this spectrum policy can be introduced is required. In this paper, we describe the detailed procedure of the incentive auction and present policy considerations for the introduction of the incentive auction.

인과지도에 기반한 주파수공유 생태계 활성화 정책 설계

Demand of spectrum resource is tremendously increasing recently and this trend will continues in the future due to the wide spread of IT services based on cloud computing and Internet of Things technology and as well as smart devices. Recently, spectrum sharing technology has drawn attention to the spectrum policy makers as a promising way to overcome the shortage problem of scarce spectrum resource. To succeed in commercialization of spectrum sharing technology, it is necessary to prospect the future business ecosystem of spectrum sharing and develop appropriate policies and laws at the same time along with the advance of spectrum sharing technology. The purpose of this paper is to analyze casual relationships between enablers in future business ecosystem of spectrum sharing and propose policies to vitalize spectrum sharing ecosystem based on a system dynamics causal map proposed in the previous research. With the causal map and system dynamics method, it is possible to analyze feedback loops exist in the business ecosystem of spectrum sharing and build policies which optimize positive dynamics in business ecosystem of spectrum sharing. As a result, policy leverages were found in four areas; spectrum supply, spectrum demand, spectrum quality and technology, and spectrum transaction cost. For those policy leverages, 13 policies were identified and intervention timing for each policy was discussed. Finally, the promotion policies of government and market participants to vitalize spectrum sharing ecosystem were discussed.

Spectrum policy issues for millimeter wave mobile communications [Spectrum Policy and Regulatory Issues

National and international researchers and spectrum regulators have opened the issue of mobile broadband use of spectrum above 20 GHz, often called millimeter wave (mmW) because of the wavelengths involved. It is ironic that when the author first started working in spectrum policy in 1979, conventional wisdom was that land mobile use above even 1 GHz was impractical. Indeed, the original U.S. motivation for considering high definition television, which later evolved into digital television, was an attempt by U.S. broadcasters to derail an initiative by land mobile interests for more spectrum sharing access to UHF-TV spectrum because that was thought to be the only available new band which would work in land mobile applications [1].

Will the U.S. and EU telecommunications policies converge? A survey

Currently, U.S. and EU telecommunications policies differ in many respects. For example, wholesale access to local loops is largely deregulated in the U.S. but continues to be regulated in the EU. Or, the U.S. has an elaborate universal service policy with a set of universal service funds and specific policies for high-cost regions and low-income users, while universal service policies in the EU are much more sporadic. Will the forceful technical and market developments that are associated with IP convergence, next generation access (NGA) and mobile broadband (4G) lead to a convergence of telecommunications policies in the U.S. and EU? Based on a survey of the relevant U.S. and EU related economics literature the current paper addresses this issue for the five policy areas of interconnection, wholesale loop access, net neutrality, spectrum policy and universal service. While IP convergence and the spread of 4G are likely to enhance policy convergence, NGA could have a different effect to the extent that the penetration of and the competitive properties of NGA depend on legacy infrastructures that differ between the two continents.

Spectrum policy challenges of UAV/drones [Spectrum Policy and Regulatory Issues

There is growing interest around the world in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), often called drones, for both military and civil use. In International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) jargon they are called remotely piloted aircraft (RPA), while in the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) they are called unmanned aeronautical systems (UAS). The civil use includes both commercial use as well as noncommercial use (e.g., a new platform for photography). Indeed, a major U.S. newspaper reported recently, The next time you go to a wedding, be sure your hair is done, your lipstick is on, and your underwear isn't sticking out of your pants. You never know if a drone is lurking in the sky about to zoom in and take your picture [1].

창의적 전파이용을 위한 전파정책 분석

Abstract With the rapid development of radio technologies, there have been actively researching the convergence between radio technology and other industry as well as wireless communications itself. In this paper, we investigate the paradigm shift of radio policy as radio technologies such as small cells and cognitive radio advance, and analyze the directions of spectrum policy and radio technology to promote the creative use of radio waves. In particular, we propose the spectrum policy for the expansion of open spectrum policy, technology development of interference management, and restructuring of the Korean radio law. Key words: Open Spectrum Policy, Creative Usage, Radio Waves WX Revised August 7, 2014 ; Accepted August 18, 2014. (ID No. 20140626-04S)bCorresponding Author: Chang-Joo Kim (e-mail : cjkim@etri.re.kr) k. 서 론

3~4 GHz 대 주파수 공동사용을 위한 스펙트럼 액세스 모델 제안

Abstract Many researches on the usage of shared spectrum have continuously been carried out to solve the recent frequency shortage problem and to use efficiently the spectrum without interference. Also, exponential mobile data growth and the solutions needed to address this challenge are parallel key objectives addressed in many countries. Spectrum policy innovation to meet this challenge is the ASA/LSA (Authorized Shared Access/Licensed Shared Access), which is the best access model to employ the small cell technology to meet this mobile traffic growth. Because 3.5 GHz bands is considered as the ASA/LSA frequency, in this paper, we propose the SAM(Spectrum Access Model) in 34 GHz bands to estimate the available ASA/LSA bands and to open more free spectrum. These results are utilized as the data to develop the SAM for the small cell and the open frequency in future.Key words: Spectrum Sharing, ASA/LSA, Small Cell pqr Revised July 30, 2014 ; Accepted August 12, 2014. (ID No. 20140625-02S)Corresponding Author: Young-Heung Kang (e-mail: yhkang@kunsan.ac.kr)

이동통신 LTE 주파수 정책: 주요국 사례를 중심으로

Abstract Recently, many of the mobile network operators or telcos are introducing the LTE service in order to effectively cope with an explosive increasing mobile traffics due to an expansion of the use of smart phones. The 1.8㎓, 2.6㎓, and 800㎒ band classes are most widely used for LTE. In particular, the 1.8㎓ band class is the most useful one in terms of the re-usability of the existing (2G) network, global harmonization, bandwidth, eco-system of equipments and devices, and so on. In recent years, major countries in the world have allocated the 1.8㎓ band spectrum in a wide bandwidth unit suitable for the upcoming LTE-Advanced service. This paper surveyed the 1.8㎓ band spectrum allocation policies of the 12 OECD countries, including Republic of Korea. From the survey, we have found that they rebuilt or refarmed the existing holders' bands, recovered the public (i.e., military)-use bands, and allocated the bands in a wide bandwidth and in an equal or similar size. Key Words : LTE, Spectrum Policy, 1.8㎓ Band, OECD Countries

The opportunity of private sector sharing of government spectrum [Spectrum Policy and Regulatory Issues

As recent history has shown, the challenges of sharing government spectrum between commercial and public are long standing, but not intractable. A 1991 National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) study, U.S. Spectrum Management Policy: Agenda for the Future , set a road map for spectrum auctions in the United States and elsewhere in the world. The study made other recommendations that covered increased sharing of spectrum between private sector and government users and NTIA's plans explore fees to promote greater efficiency among federal agency spectrum users, including through a shadow market price or as a cost recovery tool. Nearly a quarter century after the NTIA study was released, the factors behind the relative effectiveness of auctions and sharing vs. market-based fees for increasing the efficiency of spectrum use are instructive for the next chapter of spectrum policy.

European influence in ITU-R: the end of an era of dominance?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of the European countries in Region 1 of the Radio Sector of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU-R). More specifically, the focus is on the World Radiocommunication Conference 2012 meeting to explore whether European influence is in decline. Design/methodology/approach – This article adopts in-depth case study of the 700-MHz issue. Qualitative data are drawn from semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders who participated at the World Radiocommunication Conference 2012 meeting. Findings – This article concludes that the influence of European countries in the ITU-R in Region 1 has changed. The influence of Arab and African countries has increased, with that of European countries declining. However, European countries remain more influential than their African and Arab counterparts. Research limitations/implications – This article sheds light on an often overlooked but pivotal element of the international spectrum allocation mechanism. Originality/value – This article sheds light on important developments in the international spectrum policy that are largely overlooked in the current debate.

The challenge of balancing private sector and government spectrum use

In a book on spectrum policy written by the pioneers of contemporary spectrum policy in the United Kingdom, the issue of public sector spectrum management is introduced by saying "Spectrum is used to produce services which are supplied by firms for commercial reasons and distributed into a market place, and to provide public service such as defence and emergency services which are usually provided free at the point of delivery by a public body." [1] This commercial/public use of spectrum highlights the challenge of how to divide it equitably, effectively, and rationally between government users and private sector users. While in engineering we expect to find analytic solutions to maximize some figure of merit, this is more of an "apples and oranges" problem. There is now growing interest in considering economic tools rather than purely administrative processes in determining the division of spectrum between these two types of users.

A Status and Task of Spectrum Policy for Realization of Creative Economy

A Status and Task of Spectrum Policy for Realization of Creative Economy

Lowering Coordination Costs for Federal Radio Engineers

Federal radio engineers have the expertise and job description to perform federal spectrum repacking. However, these federal employees have high costs of coordination due to administrative constraints. The inter-agency structure of federal spectrum management creates fragmentation on spectrum decisions. Radio engineers are disaggregated from their counterparts in other agencies and removed from policy decisions made by spectrum policy committees. Several proposals for institutions to manage federal spectrum have been advanced this year to bring federal spectrum into a modern organizational service. Institutional reform requires a closer analysis of the role of federal employees who perform repacking and inventory of federal spectrum. Institutional reform is needed to incorporate best practices from federal property management to federal radio spectrum reallocation to better align incentives of federal employees, particularly engineers who manage custom and localized federal radio equipment.

The Use of Statistical Risk Assessment by the FCC in Spectrum Regulation

This paper explores the FCC’s approach to spectrum regulation by examining its quantification of harmful interference, analysis of service rules in its rule-making process, and the content of its final service rules. The paper was developed to support the Interference Studies project of the FCC TAC 2013 Spectrum and Receivers working group. The FCC has traditionally used worst-case analysis to determine whether new service rules will cause interference, and the FCC’s final service rules have traditionally been single-value. However, a worst case-analysis and single-valued rules arguably creates unnecessarily conservative rules that may not result in the maximum benefit to society. Thus, a number of analysts and regulators have argued for statistical approaches to spectrum policy. This paper continues as follows: Section I identifies the FCC’s regulation of interference in the following three contexts: 1. The discussion and definition of harmful interference. 2. The technical analysis of service rules done during the rule-making process. 3. The content of final service rules. In order to better understand the status quo in the FCC’s spectrum policy, Section I examines the three contexts based on the following five distinctions. The first option in each distinction is the FCC’s traditional approach: 1. The definition of harmful interference can be qualitative or quantitative. 2. Analyses of service rules can be worst-case or multi-case. 3. Analyses of service rules can be qualitative or quantitative. 4. Final service rules can be single-value or statistical. 5. Final service rules can be quantitative or qualitative. Section II explains our four findings. In summary, the FCC’s: 1. Technical analysis and final rules fail to quantify harmful interference. 2. Customary analysis of service rules is worst-case. 3. Resulting service rules are almost always single-value. 4. Analysis of service rules is generally qualitative and resulting service rules are usually quantitative. Section III presents the Northpoint case to illustrate the application of the above criteria and findings. “Northpoint” was a controversy about the FCC’s approval of Multichannel Video Distribution and Data Service (MVDDS) — a terrestrial wireless broadband technology. Northpoint, a developer of MVDDS, tried to obtain approval to operate terrestrial transmitters in the face of objections from the incumbent operators of direct broadcast satellite receivers. In Northpoint, the FCC never quantified harmful interference in its technical analysis nor final rules, and it started with a multi-case analysis of service rules that ended in single-value service rules.

Meeting mobile demand with a combination of spectrum alternatives

The laws of physics have not changed: Higher frequencies still require smaller antennas, while lower frequencies penetrate objects more easily. But technology to harness the potential of radio waves continues to improve, enabling us to both use frequencies not practical or possible in the past, and to employ ever wider radio channels that enable higher performance. The implications are far-reaching, likely to significantly change how we construct future networks. Spectrum policy decisions should be cognizant of such developments - if focused too sharply on today's technologies and their limitations, they could undermine optimal future spectrum deployment. In particular, some of the current premiums placed on low-frequency bands are unwarranted. Two technology arenas illustrate progress in spectrum utilization: WiFi and cellular; which are discussed in this article.

Effects of Public Policy on Fixed and Mobile Broadband Infrastructure Quality

With the rapid diffusion of mobile and fixed access platforms, access to broadband services has become widely available in high and medium-income countries. While overcoming gaps in broadband access remains an important and pressing policy issue, the realization of the benefits of advanced information and communication services is increasingly dependent on the quality of the available connectivity. In spite of this increasing importance of quality attributes, such as download and upload speeds, most theoretical and empirical studies of broadband availability have thus far focused on adoption. Only a handful of recent papers have sought to address the factors influencing broadband infrastructure quality. This paper examines the factors that influence the quality of fixed and mobile broadband access. Drawing on institutional economics, the study provides an integrated conceptual framework that allows analyzing the interaction of supply, demand, policy, and contextual factors. This approach allows differentiated insights into the effects of policy choices and their interactions with other factors. Policy instruments that are examined in detail include forms of unbundling and open access, the creation of competitive conditions, and the importance of public-private partnerships. For wireless broadband, we also control for aspects of spectrum policy and management. As is known from policy research, it is often a specific combination of policy choices that affects outcomes rather than any single measure. Prior empirical research suggests that the implementation of a consistent combination of policy choices matters greatly. To address this unique interaction of policy arrangements with outcomes, we pursue a dual approach using empirical methods that allow complementary insights. The application of panel methods allows the examination of sufficient conditions and of effect sizes of drivers of broadband quality. A second method, Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA), pioneered by sociologists and political scientists, allows the systematic exploration of interdependencies among these drivers. This quantitative method is better suited than traditional econometric models to explore the interactions between policy choices and the quality of broadband access. QCA allows a systematic examination of the necessary and/or sufficient conditions that influence broadband quality. Because the method is based in principles of set theory, it allows a flexible analysis of not only single policy instruments but also of their interaction with other policy and external conditions. We explore the drivers of both fixed and mobile broadband quality and potential interdependencies between the developments of them. Using Ookla and Akamai data of download speeds that are actually realized over the network infrastructure for a cross-national sample of OECD and medium-income countries, we focus on the role of public policy decisions as a determinant of quality and quality upgrades of access networks. We find that the most important factor with a positive effect on quality and quality improvements is competition. We also find evidence that regulatory interventions such as unbundling or open access provision do have a positive contribution in markets with limited competition. However, the findings also provide evidence that the best policy approach is dependent on the specific context of a country so that no single best practice model emerges from the observations. This paper builds on and significantly expands earlier work, some of which was presented at conferences before (but has not yet been published). A first model of the determinants of fixed broadband quality was presented at the European Regional Conference of the International Telecommunications Society in Florence (October 2013) and a preliminary discussion of QCA with a more limited sample, also focusing on fixed broadband, will be presented at the CPR LATAM conference in Bogota (May 2014). Compared to these earlier versions, the present paper expands the number of countries and adds mobile broadband as well as the interdependencies between fixed and mobile to the analysis.The paper contains methodological, theoretical, and practical contributions. Theoretically, it provides a more comprehensive analysis of the factors that shape broadband speeds. Methodologically, it applies a dual empirical approach to communications policy issues. Because that approach allows exploring the levers available to policy-makers more fully than econometric analyses alone, the paper also contains directly applicable practical lessons for policy-makers.