https://www.fiercewireless.com/wireless/apple-presses-for-more-unlicensed-allocations-super-high-spectrum-bands
<https://www.fiercewireless.com/wireless/apple-presses-for-more-unlicensed-allocations-super-high-spectrum-bands>
Apple presses for more unlicensed allocations in superhigh spectrum bands
May 7, 2018 8:34am
While the FCC is taking comments about how it should treat the superhigh
spectrum bands, Apple is urging regulators to include more unlicensed
spectrum bands in their plans.
It’s not asking for parity between licensed and unlicensed bands, but it says
what’s currently been proposed far too heavily favors licensed technologies.
One thing the commission could consider is permitting unlicensed technologies
to share these superhigh bands with licensed services, according to Apple’s
filing
<https://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/1050308972849/Apple%20Spectrum%20Horizons%20Comments.pdf>.
The commission already has proposed innovative sharing opportunities between
fixed service, fixed satellite service (FSS) and unlicensed services in its
Mid-Band Spectrum Notice of Inquiry, and such sharing mechanisms should be
explored and implemented at the outset in the bands above 95 GHz, according
to Apple.
The tech giant is also recommending that the commission establish larger
unlicensed bandwidths. Thus far, the proposed unlicensed bands range from 1
gigahertz to 7.2 gigahertz wide—too narrow to enable optimal use of the type
of technologies that are being developed today.
ETSI and the Electronic Communications Committee of the European Conference
of Post and Telecommunications Administrations are working to advance new
short-range radiodetermination applications that would operate between 120
GHz and 260 GHz and would require bandwidths of 20 gigahertz or more to
function optimally. Existing forms of this kind of technology are central to
various industries, including environmental protection, human safety and
manufacturing, Apple said. Providing room to develop these technologies at
higher frequencies with larger bandwidths has the potential to significantly
improve the fidelity of these technologies, supporting applications that are
feasible today, the company said.
Likewise, the ITU has started studying the use of spectrum between 275 GHz
and 450 GHz for high-speed, short-range communications technologies, which
would also depend on sufficient spectrum for very wide bandwidth operations.
“Therefore, while it is true that this spectrum is largely a ‘blank slate’
today, there are already concrete examples of likely uses for these bands
that should be considered in the commission’s decision-making,” Apple stated.
Some commenters in the proceeding are advising the FCC not to move too fast
on rules for the bands above 95 GHz because so much could change
technology-wise and they don’t want to get stuck with rules based on old
knowledge.
Apple said the FCC should avoid restrictive rules that would preclude the
technologies that have begun to emerge and instead use known examples to
inform its expectations about unknown future uses. “Prematurely restricting
operations above 95 GHz—by, for example, creating only a few narrow
unlicensed bands—without reliable information about the technical
characteristics of future systems may also threaten future U.S.
competitiveness in emerging wireless technologies,” the company said.
