GigaOm March 18, 2010, 5:20PM EST

FCC's Broadband Plan: Mobile Broadband Will Save Us

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The chart lays out the spectrum bands and the timing for the FCC airwave grab. Stacey Higginbotham

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So to push the mobile broadband envelope, the FCC wants to take actions to free up 300 MHz by 2015. The chart lays out the spectrum bands and the timing for this FCC airwave grab, and I offer a bit more context below.

WCS: This spectrum is contentious because Sirius Satellite is worried about interference from any cellular operators deploying service in this band. The plan proposes to resolve that issue this year.

AWS 2 and 3: These 60 MHz should be relatively easy to get to auction or to allocate for mobile broadband once the government makes some decisions. At issue with some of this spectrum is whether it will be paired with spectrum the FCC will have to carve out from other federal holdings. The agency hopes to figure this pairing issue out with the National Telecommunications & Information Administration by Oct. 1. Paired spectrum is useful for deploying the more common, forward division multiplexing-type of networks.

D Block: These 10 MHz were too much trouble during the last spectrum auction, because they were burdened with huge public safety network rules. The goal, to which the plan dedicates an entire chapter and $6.5 billion, is to build out a nationwide public safety network so all local, state, and federal first responders can communicate in case of an emergency. These 10 MHz will have to connect with spectrum set aside for the National Public Safety network and will have to be deployed to work with commercial handsets using LTE network technology. This makes such spectrum a good bet as a safety valve or a backup chunk of spectrum for an existing provider.

MSS: Mobile satellite service providers such as Terrestar, SkyTerra, and Inmarsat own spectrum in this band because they've promised to build a combination satellite-and-terrestrial network. So far they've failed to make good on that promise, and I have huge doubts they ever will.The FCC appears to be relaxing some of the more stringent requirements on satellite providers to see if they can deliver a credible mobile broadband service with devices consumers will buy.If the FCC eliminates some of the satellite requirements, the MSS spectrum holders hope their spectrum becomes more valuable.

Broadcast TV: The FCC hopes to pry 120 MHz away from broadcasters in urban areas, where cellular providers have the most need for spectrum. That will pit the FCC and carriers against big broadcasters and over-the-air television watchers in big cities. Oh. My. God. It's going to be a showdown. But I'm glad the FCC isn't going for a token spectrum grab from rural broadcasters, which would be easy but wouldn't alleviate network congestion.

The FCC isn't making friends in Congress (or with over-the-air television buffs) with this plan, but as the final arbiter on how televisions have to send out their signals, it has the ability to squish some channels together and dictate how broadcasters use their 6MHz channels. To ease the pain of the FCC flexing this power over broadcaster's spectrum allotments, it's asking Congress to change the way spectrum auction proceeds are shared to let broadcasters have a piece of the pie. To bolster its controversial move, the FCC points out that cellular companies have valued each megahertz of spectrum per person covered at $1.28, while the television spectrum is currently valued at 11-15¢. Why? Because mobile broadband is the future, and over-the-air television is on its way out. Heck, the FCC even notes that poor consumers could get their broadcast through subsidized IPTV instead.

Getting more spectrum is the biggest aspect of expanding mobile broadband, but rules to make it easier to deploy microwave backhaul are also in the queue for 2010. And the FCC pledges to allocate a band for unlicensed wireless, although it doesn't specify where this band might be. It also touches on the white spaces broadband the FCC approved in 2008, basically saying it wants to see devices and networks using white spaces broadband soon.We do, too.We thought we'd have more than a few trial networks by now. For folks watching and waiting for this flood of spectrum, the FCC and the NTIA set a deadline of Oct. 1 this year to identify additional spectrum for use.

Since mobile broadband is the linchpin of our federal broadband plan, we'd better get this right.

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