Provide Priority Access for Military Operations in the Lower 200 Megahertz
Developing a National Spectrum Strategy
The FCC’s Public Notice asked, consistent with the 2018 FNPRM, about the lower 200 megahertz of the band being subject to priority use by DoD and military agency departments “to ensure that spectrum is available for military deployments, which may be on a longer timescale than commercial deployments.”63 Several commenters noted that under priority access rules, non-Federal access should be permissible for commercial operations subject to certain conditions.
- NCTA described a sharing framework under which 200 megahertz of DoD priority access would not be necessary using TDD sync and 200-meter standoff distances, which are derived from calculations dependent on 3GPP-like system characteristics. NCTA cautioned against any framework which would limit non-Federal access to the 200 megahertz of Federal priority spectrum when not in use by a Federal system.
- Verizon stated that non-Federal operations should be allowed in the 37.0-37.2 GHz segment “subject to future federal operations” and priority access should not be interpreted as exclusive access. Verizon supports the proposals in the Public Notice that priority access includes as a condition on non-Federal site registrations in the 37.0-37.2 GHz band “that the licensee must modify or potentially cease operations in the future if those operations conflict with later military deployments and that these non-federal operations will not be protected from harmful interference from subsequent military deployments.”64
- Ericsson advised that in the 37.0-37.2 GHz portion of the band, the coordination framework should permit Federal operators to have a priority for outdoor registrations only; “indoor registrations should be available to non-federal operators on a first-come, first-served basis, subject to reasonable protections for outdoor use.”65
Priority access is critical to provide an opportunity for DoD to pursue and ultimately deploy technology innovation in all facets. Since the FCC began considering service rules for the Lower 37 GHz band, priority access for Federal users has been contemplated.66 The Public Notice references this long-standing history “to ensure that spectrum is available for military deployments which may be on a longer timescale than commercial deployments.” The co-primary allocation for Federal and non-Federal applies throughout the entire 37.0-38.6 GHz range. As noted above, limitations on DoD’s access to the 37.6-38.6 GHz frequency range, which has already been auctioned for commercial use, underscores the need for the Lower 37 GHz band sharing framework to enable meaningful military access, including as part of a priority access segment.
To implement priority access, non-Federal operators could register sites in the lower 200 megahertz immediately, subject to future pre-emption by military operations. The non-Federal operator would operate on a Non-Interference Basis (NIB) to prospective DoD operations until military users require access. Non-Federal users can request access to the lower 200 megahertz, with the understanding that their operations may be preempted by DoD. If Phase One contours overlap with a deployed commercial system in the lower 200 MHz, DoD would work with NTIA to invoke priority access. Within a set period (i.e., 30 days), DoD would work in good faith with the commercial operator to resolve the interference concerns. If DoD concerns cannot be mitigated in this period, DoD would have priority access to the lower 200 megahertz in the desired location. Upon notification that DoD is beginning construction of its facilities, the commercial operator would cease any overlapping operations. DoD and NTIA would support a limited period of compliance for non-Federal incumbents upon such notification (i.e., 30 days from receipt of notice to stop transmitting.)
The NSS recognizes a unique opportunity for advancements in the Lower 37 GHz band and describes it for “potential expanded governmental and non-governmental use for an array of advanced, next-generation applications and services.” The NSS I-Plan Strategic Objective 1.1(b) identifies “NTIA, working through the IRAC, will update both the relevant guidance and the procedures for NTIA review of agency spectrum requirements to help ensure that spectrum access will meet new requirements,” which further declares innovation and NTIA’s forward thinking of future Federal Agency requirements. As discussed above, DoD is evaluating the potential use of this spectrum for a variety of innovative services. In addition to aeronautical and WPT, it is looking at various space and moon-based services. DoD will initially pursue evaluation of these innovative use cases under experimental authorizations or special temporary authorizations. A study would also evaluate the additional service rules for 37.0-37.2 GHz to inform a potential future request for a change to the Table of Frequency Allocations. DoD is interested in collaborating with industry on all of these efforts.