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FCC Opens More Spectrum for WISPs
flirzan writes "Today the FCC announced that they will be opening up new spectrum for use in wireless broadband applications. The new spectrum will run from 3650-3700 Mhz, and requires that licensees register all system base stations. This is great news for wireless ISPs everywhere, as it will make interference avoidance/mitigation much easier. Licenses will run 10 years, and are renewable and transferable. No word yet on how much the licenses are expected to cost or when they'll be available."
For those who can't get the PDF, here it is in plain text:
FCC OPENS ACCESS TO NEW SPECTRUM FOR
WIRELESS BROADBAND IN THE 3650 MHZ BAND
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or
Commission) adopted rules to open access to new spectrum for wireless broadband in the 3650-3700
MHz band (3650 MHz). The Commission adopted a hybrid approach that draws from both the
Commission's unlicensed and licensed regulatory models and provides for nationwide, non-exclusive
licensing of terrestrial operations in the band utilizing technologies employing contention-based
protocols. This streamlined licensing mechanism with minimal regulatory entry requirements will
encourage multiple new entrants and stimulate the rapid expansion of wireless broadband services --
especially in rural America -- by Wireless Internet Service Providers (WISPs) and other entities with
limited resources. The Commission also provided an opportunity for the introduction at 3650 MHz of a
variety of new wireless broadband technologies, such as Wi-Max, into the band.
Under the Commission's approach, there is no limit on the number of licenses that can be
granted, and each licensee will be authorized to operate on a shared basis with other licensees on all 50
megahertz of the band, subject to restrictions in geographic areas occupied by grandfathered Fixed
Satellite Service (FSS) and Federal Government stations. Licensees will also be required to register all
system base stations electronically with the Commission. Base station registration will enable licensees
to locate each other's operations and will facilitate protection of grandfathered stations from interference.
This type of licensing and registration will enable the Commission to monitor the use of this spectrum as
new technologies and services develop.
The Commission found that the public record developed in this proceeding supports multiple
users sharing this spectrum through the use of "contention-based" protocols to minimize interference
among fixed and mobile operations. New fixed and mobile stations will therefore be required to use
contention-based protocols, which will reduce the possibility of interference from co-frequency operation
by managing each station's access to spectrum. The Commission concluded that this approach is a
reasonable, cost-effective method for ensuring that multiple users can access the spectrum.
The Commission gave all licensees the mutual obligation to cooperate and avoid harmful
interference to one another. Mobile stations also will be required to positively receive and decode an
enabling signal transmitted by a base station. The Commission determined that this approach will ensure
that mobile stations operate within range of registered base stations, thereby avoiding interference to grandfathered FSS and Federal Government stations. Fixed stations will be allowed to operate with a
peak power limit of 25 Watts per 25 megahertz bandwidth, and mobile stations with a peak power limit of
1 Watt per 25 megahertz bandwidth.
The Commission kept the existing allocations for the band, grandfathering previously licensed
primary incumbent FSS earth station operations and three Federal Government radiolocation stations,
entitling them to interference protection from new wireless licensees. To protect these incumbent
operations, the Commission established circular protection zones around them - 150 km for FSS earth
stations and 80 km for Federal Government stations - and prohibited new terrestrial licensees from
operating within these zones unless they negotiate agreements with the incumbents. The Commission
determined that new FSS stations should be allowed on a secondary basis and denied several petitions for
reconsideration of an earlier decision in this proceeding that established the existing FSS, FS and MS
allocations.
The Commission also concluded that there should be no eligibility restrictions