SPECTRUM POLICY TASK FORCE PRESENTS RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SPECTRUM POLICY REFORM

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWS MEDIA CONTACT
November 7, 2002    Robin Pence (202) 418-0505

SPECTRUM POLICY TASK FORCE PRESENTS RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SPECTRUM POLICY
REFORM

Washington, DC. -- The Federal Communications Commission's Spectrum
Policy Task Force today presented recommendations to modernize the
rules that guide how the nation's spectrum is managed and utilized
and to evolve from a traditional government "command and control"
model to a more flexible, consumer-oriented approach.  The Task Force
delivered its recommendations in a report presented to the full
Commission.   The Task Force's Report will provide a starting point
for a long term review of spectrum policy approaches that could be
implemented by the Commission.

The Task Force, created by FCC Chairman Michael Powell in June 2002,
has conducted a comprehensive review of spectrum policy at the FCC.
Based upon its research and extensive public input, the Task Force
concluded:  "<[T]>he time is ripe for spectrum policy reform.
Increasing demand for spectrum-based services and devices are
straining longstanding, and outmoded, spectrum policies.  While the
Commission has recently made some major strides in how spectrum is
allocated and assigned in some bands . . . spectrum policy is not
keeping pace with the relentless spectrum demands of the market."

Task Force key findings:

ß Access.  Based on preliminary research and review conducted by the
FCC Staff and the Task Force, some spectrum bands are heavily used,
but many are not in use in all geographic areas or are used only part
of the time.  Thus, there may be opportunities for spectrum-based
services or devices to operate in the resulting "white spaces" -
including both those that result from variability in the operations
of existing spectrum users over time and those that result from the
geographic separation of existing spectrum users.

ß Technology.  While technological advances are contributing to the
increased diversity of spectrum-based consumer applications and
greater consumer demand for spectrum-based services, technological
advances such as the increased use of digital technologies and the
development of software-defined radios are providing some potential
answers to current spectrum policy challenges.  These technological
advances enable spectrum rights to be parceled as a function of time,
in addition to the currently-used parameters of frequency and
geographic area.  Also, they allow systems to be much more tolerant
of interference than in the past.

ß Rights and Responsibilities.  Spectrum rights and responsibilities
are not always clearly defined - users need more certainty.  In
addition, the rights and responsibilities that are defined need to
better reflect more market-based models and policies.

Task Force key recommendations:

1. Migrate toward more flexible, consumer-oriented policies.  The
Task Force recommends that the Commission evolve its spectrum policy
toward more flexible and market-oriented spectrum policies that will
provide incentives for users to migrate to more technologically
innovative and economically efficient uses of spectrum.  Specific
recommendations include:

ß Provide incentives for efficient spectrum use by both licensed and
unlicensed users through flexible rules and facilitating secondary
markets.  This would enable spectrum users to make fundamental
choices about how they use spectrum, taking into account market
factors such as consumer demand, availability of technology and
competition.   

ß Clearly and exhaustively define spectrum users' rights and
responsibilities.

ß Investigate rule changes that promote more flexible power limits in
rural or less congested areas.

2. Adopt quantitative standards to provide interference protection:
interference temperature.  The Task Force recommends the creation of
a quantitative standard for acceptable interference that provides
both greater certainty for licensees and greater access to unused
spectrum for unlicensed operators.

Specifically, the Task Force recommends that, on a going forward
basis, the Commission adopt a new metric - the "interference
temperature" - to quantify and manage interference.  The Commission
could use the interference temperature metric to establish maximum
permissible levels of interference on a band-by-band basis, thus
placing a limit on the noise environment in which receivers would be
required to operate.  To the extent, however, that the interference
temperature in a particular band is not reached, users who emit
energy below that temperature could operate more flexibly - with the
interference temperature serving as the maximum cap on the potential
RF energy they could introduce into the band.

3. Improve access through the time dimension.  The Task Force found
that new technological developments now permit the Commission to
increasingly consider the use of time, in addition to frequency,
power and space, as an added dimension permitting more dynamic
allocation and assignment of spectrum usage rights.  This would
provide access to unused or underused spectrum through time-sharing
of spectrum between multiple users and lead to more efficient use of
the spectrum resource.

4. Shift from "command and control" model to exclusive and commons
models.  The Task Force recommends that the Commission base its
spectrum policy on a balance of three spectrum rights models:  an
exclusive use approach, a commons approach and, to a more limited
degree, a command-and-control approach.  While the
command-and-control model currently dominates today's policy, the
Task Force recommends altering the balance to provide greater use of
both the exclusive use and commons models throughout the radio
spectrum and limiting the use of the command-and-control model to
those instances where there are compelling public policy reasons,
such as some public safety applications.  To the extent feasible,
more spectrum should be identified for both licensed and unlicensed
uses under flexible rules and existing spectrum that is subject to
more restrictive command-and-control regulation should over time be
transitioned to these models.

Spectrum Policy Task Force Contact:  Lauren Van Wazer (202) 418-0030
    e-mail:lvanwaze () fcc gov.

ET Docket 02-135

-FCC-

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