11/29 FCC Comments on Opening up the 4.9 GHz Band for Unlicensed and Open Access

New America's Open Technology Institute filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) urging the Commission to move to open up the 4.9 GHz band for unlicensed and open use. Less than four percent of the 4.9 GHz band is used currently after almost two decades of allocation for public safety operations, and spectrum database management and dynamic sharing have developed to become sophisticated enough to support a sharing framework in the band for open use while still protecting the public safety entities still operational in the band. Opening the band for unlicensed use would bring widespread public interest benefits, particularly offering wireless internet service providers, community anchor institutions, and Tribal authorities the "spectrum-for-infrastructure" needed to improve broadband access and adoption in sparsely populated areas of the country. An introduction and summary is available below:

New America’s Open Technology Institute (“OTI”) respectfully submits these comments in response to the Commission’s Eighth Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the above-captioned proceeding (“FNPRM”). OTI urges the Commission to allow unlicensed use of the 4.9 GHz band with interference protection managed by an automated frequency coordination system, similar to those certified to coordinate sharing in the 6 GHz and CBRS bands, to promote widespread use of this underutilized spectrum by a very diverse set of users.

The “use-it-or-share-it” approach to expanding use of an occupied but grossly underutilized band of spectrum that the Commission adopted in fashioning a sharing framework for both CBRS and 6 GHz is a perfect fit for the 4.9 GHz band as well. Like incumbent Navy radar systems, current and future public safety operations in the band, including emergency or priority uses, can be protected best by a tiered sharing model and an automated frequency coordination system designed to maximize overall use of the band. Open access transforms fallow spectrum into valuable public infrastructure for connectivity, supporting more available and affordable broadband services, particularly in less densely populated areas, and future innovation, such as industrial and agricultural Internet of Things (IoT) networks. A tiered sharing framework in the 4.9 GHz band is most likely to promote effective use of this spectrum and to provide the broadest set of public interest benefits.

Geolocation database management and dynamic sharing is now well-established and reliable in the U.S. thanks to the Commission’s earlier innovation in adopting tiered sharing frameworks for the 3.5 GHz and 6 GHz bands. Opening the 4.9 GHz band on either an unlicensed or GAA basis can protect public safety from harmful interference, coordinate among public safety licensees, and generate proven public interest benefits by offering direct access to spectrum to the widest possible range of new users and uses, including rural broadband, enterprise IoT, and possibly even relatively small-cell capacity enhancements for future 5G networks.

Opening the band for unlicensed use, or for General Authorized Access under a license-by-rule framework, would ensure that this spectrum is getting the most use across the country from the broadest set of stakeholders. Wireless internet service providers, community anchor institutions, and Tribal authorities could readily enhance the coverage and service quality of broadband networks in less densely populated communities using this additional capacity, a public interest benefit amplified by the band’s proximity to the 5 GHz band. The absence of incumbent users, particularly in underserved rural and Tribal areas, means that opening this band up for unlicensed use would be particularly useful in expanding connectivity in precisely those less-densely-populated parts of the country that are disproportionately on the wrong side of the digital divide.

The common sense argument for this position is clear: wireless broadband connectivity is increasingly a vital input into most other economic activity and digital communication. The burgeoning 5G and IoT ecosystems will generate both increased demand and more diverse use cases for wireless connectivity to support employment, education, healthcare, financial, communication, and entertainment needs.