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IP: A Precious Resource At Risk
From: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>
Date: Wed, 27 Feb 2002 15:09:40 -0500
------ Forwarded Message From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne () warpspeed com> Reply-To: dewayne () warpspeed com Date: Tue, 26 Feb 2002 23:54:54 -0800 To: "Dewayne-Net Technology List" <dewayne-net () warpspeed com> Subject: A Precious Resource At Risk [Note: A friend sent me this article. In the past on this list, I've mentioned the IRAC and how they are really the 'power behind the throne' on all spectrum policy and allocation matters in this country. One of the problems is that there power is a well kept secret and it is very rare that an article on them ever appears. My telecom attorney today told me half jokingly that he doubted if there had been an article on IRAC in print since 1923! The article from April, 2000, does a good job of telling what IRAC is and the power they have and the problem that they presented at the time. This problem was not fixed as the article pointed out that it should have. The IRAC is behind the very restrictive UWB rules that the FCC just passed. They meet in secret and there is no 'Court of Appeals' for their decisions! DLH] A Precious Resource At Risk BY SCOTT BLAKE HARRIS If you are a farmer, water is everything. If it does not rain, crops will die. The grass will turn brown, and animals will have nothing to eat. All will be lost. Scott Blake Harris The satellite industry is not much different. Spectrum is as important to the satellite industry as water is to the farmer. Without spectrum, the industry can die. Thus those with responsibility for protecting the spectrum must do so wisely. Unfortunately, our bureaucracies have been far too cavalier in how they treat this vital and valuable resource. They tend to put bureaucratic interests ahead of public interest, to the degree they consider public interest at all. And in so doing, they put the satellite industry (and the terrestrial wireless industry too) at risk. The basic problem, of course, is that one use of the spectrum can interfere with another. If a satellite is using one orbital location and frequency, another satellite cannot use that same orbital location and frequency. Similarly, if a frequency band is used for high-density terrestrial services, it cannot be used for high-density satellite services. This means the spectrum must be allocated to different uses and licensed to different entities. Alternatively, it means rules must be established so--with mandated constraints--two different services or licensees can use the same spectrum at the same time without interfering with one another. The vitality (and indeed the future) of the satellite industry depends upon decisions about spectrum allocation and usage. For the commercial satellite industry in the U.S., these decisions are made by the Federal Communications Commission. Under the leadership of Chairman William Kennard, and with the assistance of Commissioner Susan Ness, the FCC has generally done an excellent job. Unfortunately, however, the FCC often cannot act entirely on its own. The problem is that the federal government competes with the private sector (and local governments) for use of the spectrum. According to the Commerce Dept., 1.4% of the spectrum has been allocated for exclusive federal government use. Another 5.5% of the spectrum has been allocated exclusively for commercial use. This means that 93.1% of the spectrum is shared among all users. While the FCC makes the rules governing the allocation and use of all commercial and shared spectrum, it must pay great deference to the concerns expressed by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) which represents government spectrum users--particularly with regard to shared spectrum. Unfortunately, the NTIA formulates most of its spectrum policy views through the little-known, but powerful, Interdepartmental Radio Advisory Committee (IRAC). The IRAC is composed of engineers from government agencies that use the radio spectrum. Perhaps not surprisingly, each agency in IRAC jealously guards its own turf and parochial interests. Thus, for example, the FAA is only concerned about its use of the spectrum. And the Army is concerned only with its use. And, as with any group of this nature, one must go along to get along. So if the FAA wants something, the Army is likely to say yes--if only so that when the Army wants something, the FAA will agree. Nowhere in the IRAC process is the public interest represented. And since the NTIA usually just mimics the IRAC's spectrum policy views, the views presented to the FCC by the NTIA often reflect bureaucratic politics, not sound policy. Yet the FCC feels it must defer to these views, which are always wrapped in compelling rhetoric about national security and public safety. It is this grafting of bureaucratic politics onto spectrum policy that risks undermining satellite industry growth. Fortunately, all is not lost. First, the FCC is not required to defer to the views of the NTIA. The FCC has its own technical experts who are well aware that much of the spectrum advice from NTIA reflects neither sound engineering, nor sound policy. The FCC should be encouraged by industry, and even more so by Congress, simply to do what it knows to be right on spectrum issues. If it does, all will be well. Second, and perhaps most importantly, there is a new Assistant Secretary in charge of NTIA, Greg Rohde. He is smart, experienced and understands the problem. Rohde has also made resolving this problem one of his top priorities. But there are powerful institutional forces that are not with him. Industry should be. It must make its support for his efforts at reforming NTIA spectrum policy a top priority. If it does, there will be even more reason for hope. Scott Blake Harris (sharris () harriswiltshire com), the former head of the FCC's International Bureau, is managing partner of Harris Wiltshire & Grannis LLP, a Washington law firm. All views expressed are his own. Source: Aviation Week, April 4, 2000 ------ End of Forwarded Message For archives see: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/
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