Taming the Spectrum  

In this issue:

MARKET TRENDS:
Access to Radio Spectrum Just Became a Little Easier, But Buyer (or Lessee) Beware!

CASE CORNER:
Microwave Link Installation Helps Wind Energy Client Improve Facility Operations and Maintenance

REGULATORY RAP:
Spectrum Management News

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Access to Radio Spectrum Just Became a 
Little Easier, But Buyer (or Lessee) Beware!

by Chris Hardy, VP and General Manager

Regulation of the radio spectrum has been a hotly debated subject for nearly a century, beginning in the early 1900’s when the Government passed the Radio Act of 1927 and the 1934 Communications Act, which took control of what was previously considered as “free” airwaves.  Over the last 20 years, advocates for deregulation have convinced the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) to consider more flexible approaches to spectrum management.  The FCC’s recent rulemaking establishing a secondary market for spectrum usage rights represents another significant turn in this long running conversation.

In 2000, the FCC adopted a Policy Statement identifying goals and principles for further development of secondary markets in spectrum usage rights.  They also issued an NPRM (Docket No. 00-230) to identify steps that the FCC might take to implement their policy with respect to Wireless Radio Services and Satellite Services.  The FCC wanted to modify spectrum usage rights to allow spectrum to flow more freely among users in response to economic demand and technology advances, while being consistent with statutory mandates and public interest objectives.  The FCC was concerned that existing licensees were not fully using the spectrum allocated to them.  Thus, there may be large amounts of fallow spectrum in many areas, while at the same time demand for spectrum in other areas was constrained.

In the NPRM, the FCC proposed several ways to remove unnecessary regulatory barriers and clarify rules to more easily allow Wireless Radio Services licensees to lease their spectrum.  It asked for comment on the types of leasing arrangements that would be desired and what responsibilities should be put on the licensee, the spectrum lessee, and the FCC.  It also asked for comment on approaches that might involve transfers of control of spectrum subject to FCC approval through a streamlined process.

In 2002, the Spectrum Policy Task Force Report provided support for the secondary market initiative and spectrum leasing.  The report described high demand for spectrum-based services and devices, indicating that technological advances have significantly increased the types of service offerings and contributed to increased consumer demand.  The report discussed two complimentary approaches to expand access to spectrum.  The first relying on secondary market arrangements involving spectrum leasing with licensees holding the rights to determine who could have access to their exclusive-use spectrum.  The second approach discussed open access to licensed spectrum for non-interfering devices - in essence, an underlay of low-power unlicensed devices such as Software-defined radio or Ultra-wideband.  The strong endorsement of the Task Force helped in the implementation of the reforms outlined in the Report and Order.

The Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for “Promoting Efficient Use of Spectrum Through Elimination of Barriers to the Development of Secondary Markets” was adopted on May 15, 2003 and released on October 6, 2003.

The Report and Order goes into significant detail discussing the spectrum leasing policies and providing justifications for each.  The Order basically allows two types of spectrum leasing, “spectrum manager” leasing and “de facto transfer” leasing.  It also goes to great lengths to try to justify that the provisions are allowable under the Communications Act, particularly Section 310(d), and in light of the Intermountain Microwave standard of 1963 (see table of definitions below).

Spectrum Manager Leasing
Under the “spectrum manager” leasing option, licensees and spectrum lessees may enter into spectrum leasing agreements for any amount of spectrum, in any geographic area, for whatever term agreed, as long as it is within the scope and term of the license.  No prior FCC approval is required provided that the licensee maintains de jure and de facto control over the leased spectrum.  De facto control is based on the new definition of de facto control.  Essentially, the licensee acts as “spectrum manager” with regard to the spectrum rights it chooses to lease.

Some notable requirements for the “spectrum manager” leasing option include:

• Licensee maintains de jure and de facto control of the leased spectrum.
• New definition of De facto control requires the licensee to maintain an active, ongoing oversight role to ensure that the spectrum lessee complies with all FCC policies and rules, and the Communications Act.
• All technical and interference-related service rules applicable to the particular service or frequency band will also apply to the spectrum lessee.
• Eligibility and qualification rules and the use restrictions applicable to the licensee will be applied to the spectrum lessee.
• Licensee must provide notification to the FCC of each spectrum lease into which it has entered.
• Notification to the FCC must be provided within 14 days of lease signing, and at least 21 days in advance of spectrum lessee operations.
• Licensee notification must include information on the spectrum lessee, the specific spectrum range, geographic area of operation, and lease term.
• Lessee is required to indicate whether it holds interests in other spectrum (through licenses or leases) in the geographic area covered by the lease.

Although prior FCC approval is not required under this leasing option, the FCC retains the right to investigate and obtain additional information post-notification, and to terminate arrangements that it determines violate any notification certifications or public interest concerns  (e.g. foreign ownership or competition concerns).  The FCC plans to submit notification certifications in an informational public notice on a weekly basis and have them publicly available in the FCC ULS database.

De facto Transfer Leasing
“De facto transfer” leasing allows licensees and spectrum lessees to enter into spectrum leasing agreements that involve de facto transfer of control for any amount of spectrum, in any geographic area, and for any period of time within the scope and term of the existing license.  De facto control of the leased spectrum is transferred to the spectrum lessee for the duration of the lease, but de jure control is maintained by the licensee.  Requirements under this option differ slightly depending on whether parties enter into a “long-term” arrangement (longer than 360 days) or a “short-term” arrangement (360 days or less). 

Some notable requirements of the “long-term” de facto transfer leasing option include:

• The spectrum lessee exercises de facto control of the leased spectrum.
• The licensee retains de jure, or legal, control of the leased spectrum and may impose other terms and conditions as mutually agreed.
• The spectrum lessee assumes responsibility for interacting with the FCC with respect to the leased spectrum, including associated filings.
• The spectrum lessee is primarily responsible for ensuring that it complies with all FCC rules and the Communications Act.  However, the licensee can still be held liable for non-compliance especially if it has knowledge about the lessee’s failure to comply.
• All of the particular service rules applicable to the licensee under its authorization (both interference and non-interference related) apply to the spectrum lessee.
• Eligibility and qualification rules and the use restrictions applicable to the licensee will be applied to the spectrum lessee.
• A lease application must be filed with the FCC and prior FCC approval is required.
• Upon FCC acceptance of application, it will be placed on public notice with petitions to deny due within 14 days.
• Using a streamlined process, the FCC will, within 21 days of the public notice, either consent to the transfer or “offline” the application for further examination.

The requirements for the “short-term” de facto transfer leasing option include:

• The spectrum lessee exercises de facto control of the leased spectrum.
• The licensee retains de jure, or legal, control of the leased spectrum and may impose other terms and conditions as mutually agreed.
• The spectrum lessee assumes responsibility for interacting with the FCC with respect to the leased spectrum, including associated filings.
• The spectrum lessee is primarily responsible for ensuring that it complies with all FCC rules and the Communications Act.  However, the licensee can still be held liable for non-compliance especially if it has knowledge about the lessee’s failure to comply.
• Some additional flexibility with regard to particular service rules and policies are provided to the spectrum lessee.  Interference-related rules will apply to the lessee, but certain service rules related to use restrictions, designated entity policies, and spectrum aggregation will not be applied to short-term lessees.
• Short-term leasing arrangements that meet specified conditions will be approved within 10 days pursuant to FCC special temporary authority (STA) procedures.

Collection of Information on Spectrum Leasing
Based on the notification and application requirements, the FCC will be collecting information on spectrum lessees and leases in the ULS.  The FCC claims it will be useful for other entities seeking information on leasing and for their enforcement purposes.  They declined to provide any special database or spectrum registry however, concluding that may be best suited to private sector entities.  They defer to the Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to explore whether any other action is necessary to promote information access to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the secondary market.

The second table identifies specific services that were called out in the Report and Order as excluded from the spectrum leasing options.  However, any service not on the included list should be considered excluded also.  Of particular note, MDS / ITFS, Satellite, Cable TV Relay, MVDDS, and 700 MHz Guard Band Manager services have been excluded, but are put into the Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for future consideration.

Case Corner

Microwave Link Installation Helps Wind Energy 
Client Improve Facility Operations and Maintenance

by Lester E. Polisky 

The increasing complexity of commercial wind power turbines requires that they be remotely controlled and monitored in order to optimize their performance and ensure that they work in concert with the overall utility power grid.  This remote monitoring is often accomplished through the use of microwave links performing functions known as System Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA).  As part of Comsearch’s innovative RF solutions offerings to the wind energy industry,  we entered into an agreement with one of our wind energy clients to design and install a SCADA microwave link.

The role of the SCADA microwave link is extremely important for the coordination of power generated from a wind energy network.  On-demand supply from the wind energy grid must be instantly available, and it is critical that the main power grid substation know the technical parameters of the wind energy power to be supplied.  These parameters include, phase angle, frequency, power factor, voltage, and current and must be known precisely at the substation so that the wind energy can be phased into the grid without creating a misalignment thus prompting a shut down.  The switching-in of the power from the wind energy facility must be done in phases to avoid such a misalignment.  Once the wind energy power is switched on to the electrical grid, the SCADA data provides metering of the power delivered for operational and billing purposes.  While the wind energy facility is on the main grid, its output must be constantly monitored to insure there is enough power generated to produce a net positive input to the grid. Otherwise, the wind energy grid is taken off-line either at the substation or at the wind energy O&M facility.

Thus, the SCADA microwave link will connect our wind energy client’s control center and the electrical control substation facility for the electrical power grid, approximately 2.8 miles away.  The link will operate in the 5.8 GHz unlicensed band and will have the capability of transferring 10 Base-T Ethernet signals in both directions on the path.  A voice link included in the overhead of the radios will also be available for use.  The microwave system can have as many as twenty-four additional voice channels added to it through the addition of a channel bank.

Comsearch has installed these types of microwave links in the past.  The most notable of past Comsearch microwave installation projects was the emergency work performed in New York City to interconnect cell sites on wheels (COWS) for Sprint during the recovery efforts from the September 11^th terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center (see archived WirelessPulse article NYC Telecom Recovery Efforts Following the Terrorist Attacks, November 2001, Vol 1 Issue 1).

In contrast to the New York City project, the wind energy installation project required a turnkey microwave link.  The installation project is divided into five distinct tasks.  They are:

1. Preliminary design of the microwave link to the reliability objective
2. Select and purchase the hardware for the entire system

3. Installation

4. Perform compliance testing

5. Provide training for on-site technicians for operation and maintenance of the link

The first step in the preliminary design is to determine the antenna heights.  The results of this analysis indicate that the antenna at the substation is to be placed atop a 110-foot tower which was built just prior to the installation of the link.  The antenna at the wind energy facility side was installed on the roof of the operations and maintenance building on a 16-foot pole.

                                         Figure 1 Microwave Path Profile

In order to specify the equipment to be installed on the path, we had to first determine the power available at the site.  At the operations and maintenance building there was a 120-VAC-to-VDC converter for the radio equipment.  Thus, the radio at this site will be powered from an external AC-to-DC power supply.  Comsearch also selected a 120 VAC uninterruptible power supply (UPS) with at least two-hour capacity to maintain the input AC power to the AC-to-DC power supply in the event of a power outage.  At the substation there is a 48-VDC-power supply with battery backup so no UPS was required at this location.  The current draw of the radios is less than 1 Amp. 

Table 1 Design Parameters and Reliability Calculation