WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission’s effort to promote narrowband technologies in congested private wireless bands below 800 MHz by adopting flexible channeling schemes and market-driven incentives is running into early problems.
The FCC, which in June adopted the so-called “refarming” decision, this month put a freeze on filing high-power applications for 12.5 kHz offset channels in the 450-470 MHz band.
The action was prompted by Hewlett-Packard Co., a high-tech manufacturer which raised concerns about interference from high-power operations on 12.5 kHz offset channels to medical telemetry devices used by hospitals to monitor cardiac patients.
The agency said no 12.5 kHz high-power applications will be accepted until issues surrounding the consolidation of the 20 private mobile radio services and the set-aside of low-power channels in the 450-470 MHz band are resolved.
Meanwhile, the Land Mobile Communications Council asked the FCC to turn away applications for new 12.5 kHz channels in the 150-174 MHz and 421-512 MHz bands for six months.
“LMCC is concerned that, in the absence of a stay, irreparable harm would result from the acceptance and processing of applications for the new 12.5 kHz channels in the UHF band prior to the establishment of uniform, safe and effective frequency coordination guidelines,” stated the umbrella wireless group.
Refarming is one of the most sweeping reforms in the history of mobile communications. The FCC and industry have been wrestling with refarming for three years. Private radio bands below 800 MHz support 12 million transmitters and represent a $25 billion investment.
In general, the transition plan developed by government and industry moves private users, who operate today on 25 kHz channels, to 12.5 kHz channels by Aug. 1, 1996, and to 6.25 kHz channels by Jan. 1, 2005.
Instead of forcing users to replace existing systems, the transition to narrowband channels will be accomplished by the government approving only more efficient radios over the next 10 years.
Aside from technical concerns in the ruling, an accompanying FCC proposal to consolidate the 20 private radio services is causing some anxiety among frequency coordinators. The FCC gave industry three months to come up with a plan to reduce the number of radio services down to four or less, including one for public-safety users.
If no consensus is met, federal regulators will impose their own structure.
The private wireless industry is resisting FCC plans to auction its frequencies, which the government cannot do today but will be able to do if Congress passes a budget reconciliation bill this fall. Spectrum fees are more palatable to users. The FCC would exempt public-safety spectrum from auctions.
“One could argue whether the 12.5 kHz and 6.25 kHz channels is new spectrum,” said Jay Kitchen, president of the Personal Communications Industry Association. The law limits auctions to new spectrum.
Kitchen said if the FCC determines the spectrum is new, then excess broadcast spectrum should be auctioned instead of allowing television licenses to use it for non-video purposes.
“Auctions have no place in the private, internal-use system bands,” said Mark Crosby, president of the Industrial Telecommunications Association. “This is where I draw a line in the sand. If the federal government insists upon economic incentives to achieve spectrum efficiency, spectrum-user fees are acceptable, if reasonable.”
