The Federal Communications Commission’s recently formed Spectrum Task Force is seeking to free up 90MHz of spectrum currently in the MSS frequency band by lifting some of the rules restricting its usage.
The move is in response to the requirement of the…
The Federal Communications Commission’s recently formed Spectrum Task Force is seeking to free up 90MHz of spectrum currently in the MSS frequency band by lifting some of the rules restricting its usage.
The move is in response to the requirement of the National Broadband Plan, delivered to Congress in March and approved by President Barack Obama on June 28, which outlines the need to make 500MHz of spectrum available for wireless broadband services by 2020, 300MHz of which must be made available within ten years. The Spectrum Task Force was formed by FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski to oversee this.
Under the Task Force’s plan, the FCC would change the rules over the usage of spectrum in the S-band to allow primary terrestrial use. This means that both terrestrial mobile and fixed broadband providers could access the spectrum without needing to offer satellite services.
The Task Force also proposes extending secondary-market leasing from the terrestrial bands to the MSS bands. This would enable the licence holding satellite operators to lease out their spectrum to terrestrial operators as opposed to the current rule where they can only wholesale capacity on networks they have constructed.
Julie Knapp, Co-Chair of the Task Force, said: “This initiative is an opportunity to make additional spectrum available for mobile broadband by promoting greater spectrum efficiency and flexibility. The Spectrum Task Force remains firmly committed to maintaining robust mobile satellite capability that serves important needs like disaster recovery and rural access. I am confident that we can achieve all of these goals and create a win-win solution.”
The Task Force has subsequently filed a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NRPM) with an FCC meeting scheduled for July 15 to discuss the plan.
If approved, the initiative would be a significant fillip to the current S band licensees, Terrestar Networks and DBSD North America (formerly ICO North America). The former needs to raise fresh investment to launch to market, while the latter is currently in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and though it has agreed a bankruptcy reorganisation plan, currently being disputed by creditors DISH Network and Sprint Nextel, it too requires new financing to offer commercial services. By changing the S band rules, the pair could raise substantial sums selling capacity to terrestrial operators.
The FCC’s new spectrum strategy has already seen it approve the Harbinger-SkyTerra transaction as well as free up 25MHz of spectrum from the SDARS 2.3GHz frequency band.