I checked with Fred Moorefield again this morning. While the news is not all bad, and some what was floated to him was much worse, I suspect we need to join him in worrying at least a little bit.

I am not going to attempt to generate verbatim text resulting from the markup, because the GPO will catch up more efficiently than I can. But Section 3 of the base text that Director Rehman linked to this morning, while amended somewhat, stayed largely intact. 

Section 3 requires the Secretary of Commerce to prepare a report within 18 months (shortened from 3 years by Thune's manager's amendment) evaluating the feasibility commercial wireless services, licensed or unlicensed, to share all or part of the 3100-3550 MHz band. An amended subsection 3(d) provides that the reports and any segments identified as feasible for sharing would be put out for a period of public comment, rather than included in a report under the Spectrum Pipeline Act that would more likely put the identified bands on a fast track for auction.

Subsection 3(c) requires the report to contain an assessment of impact on existing federal and non-federal users, as well as criteria necessary to ensure that existing federal and non-federal users are not subject to harmful interference. While the report is only required to assess the operations of federal entities in the band, I'm not sure how it can assess the impact and interference potential to non-federal users without also assessing the operations of non-federal users.  If this becomes law, we'll have to work with our contacts at Commerce and DoD to get our stuff in, and I've already sought to have a discussion about this.

Two things to note:

1) This has no discernible counterpart bill on the House side (yet). TKG may have a better feel for ow this might get to and progress through the other side, and whether we can and should seek an amendment there (keeping in mind that the Senate markup result is apparently much better than much of what DoD saw during discussions).

2) Unpassed legislation is subject to the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle: it is not possible to know both where it is and where it's going with precision. What got marked up yesterday could still change, for the better or for the worse. Then it could pass, or it could die. We'll be prepared for whatever happens.

An upside to the markup result is that the millimeter wave segment of the bill leaves the 47 GHz band alone, despite it being identified for study and possible allocation to the mobile service at WRC-19.

73,

Brennan T. Price, N4QX
Chief Technology Officer
American Radio Relay League
PO Box 3470
Oakton VA 22124-9470
Tel +1 860 594-0247
From: arrl-odv [arrl-odv-bounces@reflector.arrl.org] on behalf of Imlay, Chris, W3KD
Sent: Friday, March 04, 2016 10:04
To: Rehman, Doug, K4AC
Cc: Carlson, Kermit, W9XA; arrl-odv
Subject: [arrl-odv:25209] Re: 3 GHz Band in Sights of Senate Bill

That segment has been in the National Broadband Plan since the initial list of target bands was created by NTIA and FCC. But that initial list, according to DoD, was created by some consultants without knowledge of current DoD deployments and we were told to not worry about that. We will of course check with Fred Moorefield again about this. 

Chris

On Fri, Mar 4, 2016 at 9:28 AM, Doug Rehman <doug@k4ac.com> wrote:

Kermit:

 

It does specifically target our allocation, albeit not in the initial spectrum group. Look at the bottom of page 9—3.1 GHz-3.550 GHz.

 

Doug

K4AC

 

 

From: w9xa@yahoo.com [mailto:w9xa@yahoo.com]
Sent: Friday, March 4, 2016 9:22 AM
To: Doug Rehman <doug@k4ac.com>; arrl-odv <arrl-odv@reflector.arrl.org>
Subject: Re: [arrl-odv:25199] 3 GHz Band in Sights of Senate Bill

 

Hello Doug and Tom -

 

              One real issue is that there is incumbent use on some of

the spectrum that is targeted that cannot easily be moved.  Perhaps

some of the other members of the ODV can comment  on the

present current uses and the impact that this proposal might

have impact to military uses. 

      While this Senate bill identifies a segment from 3550-3700 MHz

for re-allocation, should the bill change and possibly identify a segment

any lower than 3500 MHz then it would impact our allocation at

3300-3500 MHz.  This will need to be watched closely.

 

                               73, Kermit W9XA

 

From: Doug Rehman <doug@k4ac.com>
To: arrl-odv <arrl-odv@reflector.arrl.org>
Sent: Friday, March 4, 2016 8:11 AM
Subject: [arrl-odv:25199] 3 GHz Band in Sights of Senate Bill

 

 

The Mobile Now Act is moving through the Senate. It is similar to legislation Rubio had filed in 2014 in that it seeks to make Federal spectrum available for next generation wireless services. While not in the initial proposed spectrum shift, the 3 GHz band is specifically targeted (see bottom of page 9) with a feasibility report on commercial access due 3 years after enactment of the Act.

 

Doug

K4AC


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Christopher D. Imlay
Booth, Freret & Imlay, LLC
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