2/15 FCC Public Interest Comments on Opening 6 GHz Band For Unlicensed Use

New America's Open Technology Institute wrote and submitted comments to the Federal Communications Commission ("Commission") urging the Commission to open and authorize unlicensed sharing across the entire 1,200 megahertz in the 6 GHz band from 4925 to 7125 MHz and allow low-power, indoor-only operations on an unlicensed basis in the U-NII-6 and U-NII-8 bands. The American Library Association, Consumer Federation of America, CoSN—Consortium for School Networking, Public Knowledge, and Access Humboldt all signed the comments as well. Opening the 6 GHz band for Wi-Fi serves as a crucial component of preparing for the increasing reliance on Wi-Fi networks currently, a reliance that is set to increase as the country moves from 4G to 5G mobile services. Further, Wi-Fi plays an important role in the country's economy, and is an essential tool in a variety of industries ranging from manufacturing to farming, and for important public interest anchor institutions such as schools, libraries, and hospitals. Opening up a large, contiguous band of unlicensed spectrum carries great importance in strengthening Wi-Fi. Available below is a summary of the comments:

Unlicensed spectrum is what ultimately makes both mobile and fixed broadband service more ubiquitous, productive and affordable for an overwhelming majority of Americans at home, at work, at school, and in public places. Most wireless devices rely entirely on unlicensed spectrum for connectivity. Wi-Fi generates hundreds of billions of dollars in economic activity and consumer surplus each year, in substantial part as a critical complement to mobile carrier networks that would otherwise be overwhelmed by consumer demand. Wi-Fi also plays an increasingly important role in connecting education, manufacturing, agriculture, and healthcare technologies. While Wi-Fi has been a critical pillar of the nation‘s 4G wireless ecosystem, IoT and other high-capacity networks – most of which will be indoors and connect everything – are likely to make unlicensed spectrum an even more critical part of a truly robust 5G ecosystem.

The Public Interest Organizations (PIOs) strongly support the Commission‘s proposal to allow low power, indoor-only operations on an unlicensed basis in the U-NII-6 and U-NII-8 bands. OTI urges the Commission to likewise authorize low power, indoor-only unlicensed use across the U-NII-5 and U-NII-7 band segments without the cost and complexity of AFC coordination. The overwhelming majority of consumer welfare and economic value generated by unlicensed spectrum – and particularly by Wi-Fi – is indoors, in homes and businesses literally walled off from incumbent receivers in the U-NII-5 and U-NII-7 band segments. Although expensive, professionally-installed, higher-power and AFC-controlled unlicensed access is important for enterprise and outdoor deployments, the failure to set a power level at which Wi-Fi can operate indoors across the entire 6 GHz band, using off-the-shelf routers and low-cost devices, will sacrifice what is likely to be the greatest benefit of this rulemaking. without affordable, do-it-yourself access to the 850 megahertz in U-NII-5 and U-NII-7, a majority of homes and small businesses in particular will likely be limited to a single 160 megahertz channel between 6.875 and 7.125 GHz (U-NII-8 segment).

There are at least three reasons the PIOs believe the Commission can adopt a rebuttable presumption that low-power, indoor-only unlicensed access to the U-NII-5 and U-NII-7 band segments does not create an undue risk of harmful interference to incumbents:

First, harmful interference from low power, indoor-only RLANs into FS receivers would be extremely rare even without frequency coordination by an AFC. The two operate in entirely different locations and with transmit characteristics that are complementary.

Second, the record demonstrates that FS links are high power and use high-quality, highly-directional antenna, whereas indoor home Wi-Fi and other unlicensed devices operate at very low duty cycles with low EIRP.

Third, moving Wi-Fi and other unlicensed traffic onto networks required to be low power and indoors could reduce the overall risk of interference to FS incumbents. The less obvious reason is that by making 1,200 contiguous megahertz available inside every building, unlicensed routers and other devices will spread their transmissions over multiple and much wider channels.

The PIOs urge the Commission to adopt rules for outdoor, AFC-controlled fixed wireless deployments that are harmonized with Part 15 rules allowing higher gain antennas in the 5 GHz bands currently in use for rural broadband, enabling higher EIRP operations that cover larger areas more affordably. Equipment already widely deployed in the 5 GHz band is easily adaptable to operate in the 6 GHz band. Further, although rural broadband deployment would be a primary beneficiary of a rule permitting higher-power operations, the Commission should not impose any limitation that would prevent higher-power operations from being used wherever the AFC authorizes interference-free access. We also suggest the Commission open more contiguous bandwidth for fixed wireless providers by authorizing AFC-controlled use of those portions of the U-NII-8 segment that are not currently populated by BAS operations.

The PIOs concur that in this band Automated Frequency Control (AFC) systems can be relatively simple databases that are easy to implement. AFC is well-established and reliable in bands, such as U-NII-5 and U-NII-7, where incumbent operations are geographically fixed, technically well-characterized, and change location or operating parameters infrequently. We recommend that the Commission adopt a flexible approach that allows both centralized and decentralized models for device and end-user coordination. The Commission should also give all certified AFC systems the flexibility to incorporate real-world GIS data (e.g., terrain, clutter, building heights) and a range of advanced propagation models that facilitate both a more intensive use of the band and a more precise protection of incumbent operations. Variation among AFC operators is positive for innovation and to encourage a diversity of use cases and service tiers. Cost recovery for AFC operators should be a given; but the Commission should also strive to minimize transaction costs, or arrangements that exclude or deter ordinary consumers.

Finally, our view on device registration hinges on whether the Commission authorizes low power and indoor-only unlicensed use across the U-NII-5 and U-NII-7 band segments without the added cost and complexity of AFC coordination. If unlicensed use of the 850 megahertz in those two band segments inside homes, retailers, schools, libraries and offices is subject to ongoing AFC control, ordinary consumers and small business owners will be swept up in a cumbersome registration process and the payment of fees. Even worse would be a requirement of professional installation. Under the scenario proposed in the NPRM, our groups would strongly oppose any device registration requirement.