Page 105 - SAMENA Trends - November-December 2019

REGULATORY & POLICY UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

FCC Looks to Dedicate 5.9 GHz for Wi-Fi, C-V2X Use

In a somewhat controversial move at odds with the wishes of The U.S. Department of Transportation, however, still believes the
the U.S. Department of Transportation, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai on full 75 MHz of the 5.9 GHz band needs to remain dedicated for
Wednesday proposed dedicating respective portions of the 5.9 vehicle safety communications. A DoT spokesperson provided
GHz band for unlicensed device use and C-V2X technologies. the following statement with regard to Pai’s new proposal: “The
Since 1999, the 75 megahertz of spectrum in the 5.9 GHz band Department of Transportation has clearly stated in testimony and
has been allocated exclusively for Dedicated Short-Range correspondence that the 75 MHz allocated in the 5.9 GHz, what
Communications (DSRC) systems for transportation safety and we call the “Safety Band,” must be preserved for transportation
vehicle communications, but Pai said (PDF) Wednesday that safety purposes. The Department’s multimodal guidance
the technology, slow moving to evolve and not widely deployed, document, Preparing for the Future of Transportation: Automated
is best described as “promise unfulfilled.” Specifically, the Vehicles 3.0 (AV 3.0) clearly foresees the need for protecting this
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking would repurpose the lower 45 spectrum allocation to enable the future of safe, highly automated
megahertz (5.85-5.895 GHz) for unlicensed operations such as surface transportation. This continues to be the Department’s
Wi-Fi, which Pai said is ideally suited to meet exploding Wi-Fi position on the 5.9 GHz band. We look forward to working with
demands because of its location next to 5.725-5.850 GHz band the FCC, the National Telecommunications and Information
that’s already allocated for unlicensed use. The NPRM would Administration (NTIA), and over 30 Federal partner agencies to
also revise rules for the upper 20 MHz portion (5.905-5.925 GHz) deploy solutions that enable breakthrough safety on America’s
of the 5.9 GHz band to authorize Cellular Vehicle to Everything roadways.” Companies like Qualcomm have been developing
(C-V2X) technologies that are supported by the automobile C-V2X technologies and supported earlier waiver requests by the
industry. For the remaining 10 MHz, the FCC would seek comment 5G Automotive Association (5GAA), as did Nokia and Samsung,
on whether to retain the current designation for DSRC systems for permission to deploy the technology in the upper portions of
or allocate it to C-V2X technologies. In May the FCC decided the band currently designated to DSRC. Dean Brenner, senior
to take a fresh look at the 5.9 GHz band, but the new proposal vice president of spectrum strategy and technology at Qualcomm
is a departure from the agency’s efforts and testing to evaluate praised the latest move on 5.9 GHz. “Qualcomm is very pleased
possible sharing between unlicensed devices and DSRC systems that FCC Chairman Pai is proposing to allocate the upper 20 MHz
on the same spectrum. “Preliminary testing of a sharing regime of 5.9 GHz for C-V2X, as the 5G Auto Association proposed last
showed some promise, but further testing would be needed year,” said Brenner in a statement. “This visionary FCC proposal
to carry out a complex sharing regime, and more testing would will enable us to bring the tremendous, unmatched safety benefits
mean this valuable spectrum would likely lie fallow for several from C-V2X to US drivers, passengers, and pedestrians. We
years,” said Pai during remarks at the National Union Building. look forward to working with the FCC and all other stakeholders
to get C-V2X on the air as quickly and broadly as possible.” The
FCC is hoping the new proposal will balance desires of public
agencies like the DoT with industry interests such as automotive
companies supporting C-V2X technologies including Ford, Audi,
BMW, Daimler and Tesla. It should be noted that C-V2X is not
compatible with DSRC, according to Pai, who said he’s chosen to
change course and prioritize C-V2X instead in the hopes “that this
move will unlock new vehicle safety services, using less spectrum
and on a much faster timeline than we have seen or realistically
could see with a DSRC-focused policy.”

Portuguese Cellcos Intensify Dense Air Spectrum Complaints

The long-running dispute over sought- is not in the market. It has no revenues said that the change ‘will contribute to
after 5G-suitable frequencies in and no business, and that is more than the overall spectral efficiency of the 5G
Portugal continues to rumble on, with enough reason for ANACOM to remove national market’ adding that Dense Air
Vodafone Portugal and Nos registering the spectrum.’ PT Portugal (MEO) officials, had acknowledged that the change did not
legal complaints about the National meanwhile, have called for resignations make its commercial operation unfeasible.
Communications Authority (Autoridade over the regulator’s delay in staging The 15-year concessions currently held by
Nacional de Comunicacoes, ANACOM) a 5G auction. As previously reported Dense Air Portugal run from August 2010
and its position regarding spectrum held by TeleGeography’s CommsUpdate, in until August 2025 and were previously
by small cell wholesale provider Dense October 2019 ANACOM approved a draft held by Broadband Portugal, which is
Air Portugal. Helena Feria, Vodafone decision relating to the reconfiguration understood to have its roots in WiMAX
Portugal’s Director of Legal and Regulatory and relocation of the 3.4GHz-3.8GHz licensees Bravesensor and ZAPPWIMAX.
Affairs, told local media outlets: ‘Dense Air spectrum held by Dense Air. The watchdog

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