Coverage Maps for New Wireless Spectrum Available to Fixed Services
- April 13, 2012
- bandwidth, Comsearch, coverage maps, FCC, Federal Communications Commission, Fixed Services, frequency allocation, Microwave transmission, Radio spectrum, Spectrum Management, Telecommunication, United States Department of Commerce, wireless, wireless communication, wireless engineering, wireless spectrum, wireless technology
United States radio spectrum frequency allocations chart. The FCC has freed 650 MHz of spectrum to increase sharing possibilities for 7GHz and 13GHz bands. (Photo credit: United States Department of Commerce employee via Wikipedia)
As we blogged last summer, the FCC has released 650 MHz of new wireless technology spectrum for Fixed Service wireless communication technology operators. Now Comsearch, a leading provider of spectrum management and wireless engineering services in the US, has highlighted this issue in its latest online newsletter, with an article that includes some very informative coverage maps showing the zones where the new bandwidth is available.
These maps are excellent at conveying the limitations of the newly released spectrum for microwave link applications in the 7 GHz (6.875–7.125) and 13 GHz (12.7–13.1) bands. After taking into account the zones that are reserved for existing Fixed and Mobile Broadcast Auxiliary Service (BAS) and the Cable TV Relay Service (CARS) users, these new bands are only available in about 50 percent of the US land mass covering only 10 percent of the population.
What do you think? Should the FCC loosen the spectrum sharing rules even more for 7GHz and 13GHz bands? Take our poll and tell us:
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Antennas: Why Size is Important for This Wireless Equipment
- July 1, 2011
- antenna, Aviat Networks, Business, Comsearch, Equipment, FCC, Federal Communications Commission, Fixed Wireless Communications Coalition, FWCC, Ian Marshall, microwave, Network service, Radio, Regulatory Manager, Telecommunication, Telecommunications, wireless
Image via Wikipedia
In response to the recent FCC docket 10-153, many stakeholders proposed relaxing antennas requirements so as to allow the use of smaller antennas in certain circumstances. This is an increasingly important issue as tower rental costs can be as high as 62 percent of the total cost of ownership for a microwave solutions link. As these costs are directly related to antenna size, reducing antenna size leads to a significant reduction in the cost of ownership for microwave equipment links.
The Fixed Wireless Communications Coalition (FWCC), of which Aviat Networks is a major contributor, proposed a possible compromise that would leave Category A standards unchanged while relaxing Category B standards. The latter are less demanding than Category A, and after some further easing, might allow significantly smaller antennas. The rules should permit the use of these smaller antennas where congestion is not a problem, and require upgrades to better antennas where necessary.
A further detailed proposal from Comsearch proposed a new antenna category known as B2, which would lead to a reduction in antenna size of up to 50 percent in some frequency bands. This would be a significant cost saving for link operators.
At the present time, the industry is waiting for the FCC to deliberate on the responses to its 10-153 docket, including those on reducing antenna size.
See the briefing paper below for more information.
Ian Marshall
Regulatory Manager, Aviat Networks
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