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NBP: Good reporting
Wednesday, 17 March 2010 16:47

NBP: inside the FCC's spectrum revolution (and its problems)

Matthew Lasar covers the practical issues that have tied up enough spectrum to more than double U.S. wireless capacity. Matt notes that operation in the 30 MHz adjacent to Sirius Radio 2320 MHz band is severely limited by fears of excessive interference, probably unfounded.  I remember T-Mobile tried to block use of adjacent spectrum with interfernce claims the FCC engineers tested and proved the Deutsche Telekom subsidiary was stretching the truth. As every engineer knows, there is no actual shortage of spectrum.
At least 80% of spectrum is unused at any given time and place, and typically more than 90%. While the broadband plan wasn't specific, the FCC is working hard at this. The logical first step is to make clear a standard of "essentially minimal interference" rather than the difficult to achieve "no interference whatsoever." That instantly frees up spectrum currently devoted to "guard bands" and other resticted frequencies that are far too large given modern wireless technologies. "Minimal interference" is a natural partner to extending "white space" rules across the entire spectrum. Cognitive radio tests a frequency before use and switches away if anyone is using it. World class engineers like Bob Metcalfe tell me the cognitive techniques work well enough for commercial deployment; skeptics think they are not quite ready for prime time, but are close enough ot's time to set the rules.Ars Technica http://bit.ly/aKrTsw

National Broadband Plan arrives, quoting Shakespeare

Nate Anderson possibly the most accurate close look at the plan so far. He begins his summary "Get ready for taxes. One of the Plan's recommendations is that 'the federal government should investigate establishing a national framework for digital goods and services taxation.' Then he notes the crucial requirement for open set tops, the 4Mbps for everyone!, and other sensible decisions.  Nate picked up from the plan itself a eloquent way of describing the uncertainty of the next stage. "In Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Welsh rebel Glendower tells his co-conspirator Hotspur: “I can call spirits from the vasty deep.” Hotspur responds, “Why, so can I, or so can any man; But will they come when you do call for them?” William Shakespeare, Henry IV, pt. I, act 3, sc. 1, 52–58".Ars Technica http://bit.ly/dwjaMX

FCC’s Broadband Plan: Mobile Broadband Will Save Us!

  Stacey Higginbottom gets it right that "mobile broadband is the star of the plan," and provides a very helpful chart of what spectrum is under consideration. She notes there is 90 MHz for Mobile Satellite Services (MSS), almost as much as Verizon has. Her previous articles showed profound issues with the holders such as Terrestar and Skyterra and whether they could actually build as promised. Terrestar (then called Motient) was involved in $200K of payments to corrupt New York politican Joe Bruno, who was recently found guilty in the resulting criminal case. More to come on that story.  http://gigaom.com/2010/03/17/fccs-broadband-plan-mobile-broadband-will-save-us/ 
 

FCC Gives Final Sales Pitch For Broadband Plan.

Karl Bode is on target with his criticism. "The FCC has been very busy the last few weeks selling this plan without getting too specific -- and the agency continued that trend today with a broadband plan preview (pdf). We've stored a copy of the FCC's full plan executive summary here (pdf) for those interested."Connect 100 million households to affordable 100-megabits-per-second service." This goal is, frankly, show business.

Want To Know How Meaningless The FCC's Broadband Plan Is? No One Is Upset By It

Mike Masnick at Techdirt calls the plan "a lot of talk and little of consequence." He infers this from the near-universal lobbyist support. "So far, I've seen statements from lobbyists on pretty much all sides of the issues "commending" or "applauding" or "supporting" the FCC. And that's because there's basically nothing controversial and nothing big at all in the plan. It appears to try to thread the needle and keep everyone happy -- and in doing so, it appears to punt on the all-important questions. If it was really about making the necessary changes, key players would be up in arms. But they're not. In the end, it's the kind of plan you put forward if you're being political and don't want to make waves. It's not the plan you put forward if you're making a bold leadership statement about how to really expand broadband in this country. Too bad." I hope Julius proves Mike is wrong.