Continuing the Momentum in White Spaces

Last week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski addressed the country’s looming spectrum challenge, saying, “Though we can’t see it, spectrum is becoming increasingly essential to the daily lives of almost every American. This invisible infrastructure is the backbone of a growing percentage of our economy and our lives….In 2011, a central priority at the FCC is unleashing spectrum to spur innovation, economic growth, and job creation."

In his remarks, he mentioned Spectrum Bridge as an example of a company, “investing in developing technology” and leading “innovation around unlicensed spectrum and Super Wi-Fi…” Spectrum Bridge would like to extend our thanks to the Chairman for this recognition and applaud the FCC’s efforts to improve our nation’s communications infrastructure by expanding access to broadband and wireless services via progressive policies.

Chairman Genachowski also noted, “I hope to see companies large and small bring Super Wi-Fi and other products using this spectrum to next year's CES.” In order to achieve this ambitious goal, it will take more than progressive policies – it will also take decisive action. We ask for the FCC’s help in continuing the momentum, and eagerly await their decision on White Spaces database administrators and certification requirements.

Spectrum Bridge stands ready to move forward aggressively, once the FCC has completed these important actions, to expand the reach and quality of wireless services through innovative spectrum management and sharing technologies to help deliver Chairman Genachowski's vision. To learn more about Spectrum Bridge, and how our database-driven technology is helping to deliver alternative solutions for managing bandwidth, click here.

Neeraj Srivastava, VP of Marketing & Business Development

Spectrum and Wireless Broadband – Where do we go from here?

While many were debating the pros and cons of net neutrality the past few weeks, the FCC subtly released a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) “Promoting More Efficient Use of Spectrum Through Dynamic Spectrum Use Technologies”. To summarize, the FCC has asked the telecommunications industry for comments on how we can better utilize “dynamic spectrum access radios and techniques” to support the expanding mobile broadband usage.

As noted in the Ars Technica blog posted last week, some of the FCC proposals under consideration include:

• Extending the current white space device service, which relies on databases telling you what spectrum is available for use at any given moment

• Continue to advance sensing technologies, allowing current license owners a way to lease their unused or underutilized spectrum to other parties

• Developing technologies to group non-contiguous spectrum usage, creating more available bandwidth
  

Spectrum is the backbone of the telecommunications industry, the most critical component of enabling wireless communications. We cannot wait for more spectrum to become available to keep pace with consumer’s bandwidth demands while supporting existing network infrastructures. As with the wireless evolution of the past two decades, there is opportunity today for many new technologies to arise as solutions are proposed and developed for a more efficient spectrum utilization model.

So what can the industry do to improve broadband connections? At Spectrum Bridge, we support the Commission’s ideas, believing equipment flexibility, improved spectrum management and a better understanding of usage can benefit the industry today, without major upheavals or rule changes. Our four White Space trial networks have successfully demonstrated the “database access model” works for managing shared access for unlicensed devices in the TV bands. And SpecEx has always been about creating a marketplace where holders and buyers of spectrum could come together and leverage the secondary spectrum market, enabling spectrum to flow more freely in response to economic demand. Read more about how we are continuing to improve software and services for next generation wireless networking.

And we encourage all to add comments to the FCC Notice of Inquiry, sharing your ideas and recommendations to improve the current processes; responses are due on February 28, 2011 and can be submitted here, proceeding number 10-237.

Peter Stanforth, Chief Technology Officer

Spectrum, Spectrum, Spectrum

Last week, the FCC released a notice of proposed rulemaking to repurpose a portion of the UHF and VHF bands that are currently being used by broadcast services. The long term goal is to make this spectrum available for fixed and mobile wireless communication services, including mobile broadband. The move to repurpose broadcast spectrum through voluntary incentive auctions coincides with the goals set forth in the National Broadband Plan to make more spectrum available for mobile broadband.

CTIA President, Steve Largent reiterated the need for more spectrum in a recent interview, “It really is the lifeblood of the industry…It really is the most critical element to the service that we provide.” Today, the FCC only has 50 MHz of spectrum in the pipeline that can be assigned for broadband use, which is just a fraction of the amount necessary to meet growing demands. However, in recent years, the FCC has recognized the need for a more efficient spectrum allocation model, encouraging secondary markets for spectrum, to allow for dynamic spectrum leasing, as well as releasing final rules to make the unused spectrum in the TV bands available for unlicensed use.

Although the FCC has shown its commitment to finding and freeing up other types of spectrum, Largent made a very good point in that bringing spectrum to market can often be a long and arduous process. “What a lot of people forget about is how long the process takes to get spectrum to the marketplace. The last two spectrum auctions that we had took somewhere between eight and 11 years to come to market. We simply can’t wait that long. The FCC and the president called for 500 MHz in the next 10 years and 300 MHz of that in the next five years. That is a laudable goal. We’re seeing if we can’t even get more spectrum and get it quicker.”

The process for transacting spectrum and bringing it to market can be a very lengthy process; in order to meet the growing demands from mobile users, wireless devices, and wireless access technologies that utilize spectrum, it is critical that the FCC utilizes existing solutions to enable expeditious transactions. One way to realize the FCC’s vision for more efficient and available spectrum is allow companies such as Spectrum Bridge to facilitate commercial contracts for leasing in the secondary market for spectrum. The existing rules in place for secondary markets would help to repurpose spectrum more quickly, while improving the efficiency of this finite resource.

America’s growing demand for mobile access anytime and anywhere make it necessary to find new avenues for bandwidth, in addition to utilizing alternative solutions such as secondary markets to expedite the process of bringing spectrum to market. To learn more about secondary spectrum markets, visit the Useful Links section of our website or contact us.

Joe Hamilla
COO

Connecting America through Technology

As the FCC begins to take on the action items from the National Broadband Plan, it is clear to see that we are making some progress towards fulfilling the four key goal areas (View progress on the Proposed 2010 Key Broadband Action Agenda Items):

• Maximizing consumer benefit and fostering competition
• Creating strong and secure public safety communications networks
• Accelerating Universal Broadband Access and adoption
• Promoting broadband infrastructure and innovation

The president’s commitment to make available 500 MHz of Federal and commercial spectrum over the next 10 years is a positive step towards building the necessary infrastructure needed to connect the country. Although this spectrum will certainly help to offload the demand for bandwidth over the next 10 years, will it be enough to keep up with the demand from new devices on the market?

In this age of smartphones, netbooks and other innovative wireless devices, demand for bandwidth is at an all time high. Some estimates indicate that over the next five years we will see an increase in wireless data between 20 and 45 times 2009 levels. In order to meet the growing demand for spectrum, it is necessary to seek out a hybrid solution – combining more efficient spectrum use and technology to cost-efficiently address the issue of spectrum scarcity.

In a fact sheet from the White House, it states: “… new technologies have the potential to free up spectrum from many of its existing uses. In combination with regulatory changes, new and emerging technologies can facilitate the repackaging, reallocation, and even sharing of spectrum. Reallocating spectrum to its most valuable use promises to be a win-win effort – creating value that not only spurs new innovations and creates new jobs, but also benefits existing spectrum users by allowing them to raise funds for transformative new investments.”

Spectrum Bridge is leading the way in terms of bringing new technology to the market to help foster innovation and to provide broadband solutions to previously unserved and underserved areas. As we deploy trial white space networks to demonstrate the capabilities of TV white spaces spectrum, we continue to realize the potential of this newly available spectrum. This month, our COO, Joe Hamilla will be presenting at the IEEE 802.19 Wireless Coexistence Working Group meeting to present our experiences with deploying trial TV White Spaces networks. Check back soon for his insights from this workshop!

Richard Licursi, CEO

Mickey DeChellis discusses White Spaces and Smart Grid Apps - UTC Telecom 2010

The Utilities Telecom Council (UTC) is holding their annual event “UTC Telecom 2010” next week on May 24-26, 2010. This event provides the attendees the opportunity to hear from industry experts on a wide variety of issues that impact their business, including the legal and regulatory aspects, in order to best prepare for the future. Attendees also have the opportunity to meet vendors in their industry, view on-site demonstrations of new products and services, and generate and maintain business and partner relationships. As an active member of the UTC, for the second year in a row, Spectrum Bridge will have a presence at the UTC Telecom being held in Indianapolis, IN.
Mickey DeChellis, Director of Sales & Business Development, will be on the panel discussion entitled: “White Spaces Networks Solution for Reliable Smart Grid Apps? – What’s working now” along with representatives from Motorola and the UTC. The panel will be held at the Smart Grid & Wireless Symposium at 4:30pm in room 106 on Tuesday May 25, 2010. The presentation will be focused on the unlicensed TV spectrum known as “white spaces” which offer potentially hundreds of Megahertz at frequencies with excellent propagation characteristics benefiting Utilities and Telco’s.
An additional benefit of attending the session will include real world examples currently being used with the unlicensed spectrum for Smart Grid and Smart City applications. Mickey DeChellis will be available for further discussion before and after the panel session to answer any questions. To view the UTC Telecom 2010 schedule at a glance, please click here.

Joe Hamilla discusses TV White Spaces at the 2010 NAB Show

The National Association of Broadcasters is holding their annual NAB Show next week from April 10-15. NAB's events offer broadcasters the opportunity to network with colleagues, explore new technologies, discuss innovative strategies to build stronger businesses and address important issues. The show will consist of several conferences including Broadcast Engineering, Broadcast Management, Broader-casting and the Digital Cinema and Military & Government Summits.

Joe Hamilla, chief operating officer at Spectrum Bridge, will be presenting at NAB Show’s Broadcast Engineering Conference on Wednesday, April 14. The presentation session, “Spectrum Issues for Broadcasters” will be held from 2:00pm – 5:30pm. Joe will be the first speaker of the panel and will jumpstart the discussion with the topic of “Leveraging White Spaces and an Introduction to the New Networks Being Built with Them.”

Some of the topics to be covered in the presentation include:

• FCC process for TV White Spaces spectrum
• Timeline for TV White Space
• Allocation of TV White Spaces via database
• The Availability of TV White Spaces spectrum
• Trial Networks deployed
• The Spectrum Scarcity and Bandwidth Demand Problem
• Opportunities for TV Band license holders

Spectrum Bridge will also be available following the panel for further discussion. To register as an attendee, please visit the NAB Show website.

Alternative Spectrum Solutions - Providing Nationwide Broadband Access

Among the flurry of discussion surrounding the FCC’s National Broadband Plan to be released next week, two issues as previously outlined by Julius Genachowski, chairman of the FCC, have received a great deal of attention within the industry. The first being the goal of boosting national access speeds to 100 Mbps for 100 million homes by 2020, and the second goal of freeing up 500 MHz of spectrum over the next decade by allowing broadcast television stations to sell some of their spectrum for mobile broadband purposes. While neither has been set in stone, the costs associated with these goals have been enough to spark heated discussions and commentary on blogs and articles over the past few weeks.

In an article from 4GWE, the estimated combined costs of these goals will take an investment of up to $500 billion. While this is no small number, the benefits of these two aspects of the plan are enormous – bringing broadband capabilities to every corner of the country will provide new opportunities to millions of Americans. Broadband has become a necessity in this day and age to enable more Americans to stay connected to the ever-changing world around them. However, as found in the Broadband Adoption and Use in America study by the FCC, 35% of Americans do not have broadband at home, with the top reason for non-adoption being cost – whether it be the cost of services, computers, installation fees, or a combination of all three.

New Spectrum Solutions Allowed by the FCC’s Secondary Market Initiative

EVENT PRESENTATION SERIES
Key portions of presentations given by Spectrum Bridge
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In recent years, the FCC has taken significant steps to facilitate the development of secondary markets and spectrum usage rights. Through these efforts, a number of options have opened up that allow efficient usage of limited frequencies like never before.

GEOGRAPHIC PARTITIONING is one solution. Let’s say that in a hypothetical situation, a company called “TriCounty Telephone” operates in a tricounty area. They have been awarded a license that covers 12 counties in a BTA. Knowing that their business plan allows them to operate in 3 counties only, what can they do with the remaining 75% of the license? Through geographic partitioning, they can operate in their three counties and sell or lease the remaining nine counties to create additional revenue streams – thereby earning money off a day to day business model, as well as incurring a new revenue stream from the remainder of the partitioned license.

In another case, let’s say that “Mobile Corp” won the A block of AWS for 20 MHz, but they know through market research and demographics studies with a spectrum management tool that they will only ever need to use 10MHz. What can Mobile Corp to do with the remaining 50% of the license? The answer is DISAGGREGATION.










By dividing spectrum (disaggregating) into smaller portions in the frequency domain, they can use what is needed and monetize the remaining overage. The flexibility in secondary market rules promote spectrum efficiency and allow commoditization of spectrum assets.

TIME SHARING is another way that companies can create an additional revenue stream from spectrum. Let’s say that there is a utility company wishing to do meter reading between the hours of 12 and 4am. It may not make sense for a company to purchase spectrum to satisfy spectrum they would use only 15% of the time. An option for a utility they may consider is time sharing; where they could allow another entity to rent spectrum for a set period of time.

Spectrum Bridge products make it easy to move beyond the wholesale mentality and create “right-sized” spectrum offerings that create more flexibility and affordability to buyers, while creating higher ROI for sellers. Demographic and analytic tools built into offerings such as SmartWaves can be used to determine which counties to focus networks on, thereby leaving the remaining underused spectrum to be offered on an online marketplace for monetization.

Next in the series, we’ll discuss the online marketplace for spectrum…

Will Two New Spectrum Bills Identify More Spectrum for Americans?

Last week, the House Communications Subcommittee approved two bills that are critical steps in uncovering more of one of our most precious natural resources: radio spectrum. (A companion bill sponsored by Senate Commerce Communications Subcommittee Chairman John Kerry, D-Mass., is pending.) These bills are more than just good news for the wireless industry; they’re good news for all American consumers, and the country as a whole.

Many Americans may be blithely unaware that the nation is on the verge of a looming spectrum scarcity crisis, perhaps because unlike petroleum, natural gas—or even solar or wind—our radio air waves are a natural resource that you can’t see, smell or feel. As consumers, our first hand personal experience of the spectrum shortage may be limited to when we experience dropped mobile calls, or can’t get an Internet connection. We might blame our carrier for poor service but don’t understand that our airwaves are a finite resource that is experiencing explosive demand. Many don’t realize how much our nation depends on wireless for our critical infrastructure – for utilities delivering smart grid and other power solutions and public safety services providing urgent communications – as well as our national defense. We might not pause to reflect on how wireless technologies help keep America competitive in a global economy. Some of us don’t even realize we are consumers of spectrum; we love our Blackberry’s, iPhones and laptops – and now our netbooks, iPads and whatever is “next”. We’re happy consumers of technology that entertains us and helps us communicate in new and amazing ways.

The good news is that the FCC has been steadily working toward evolving and improving how our spectrum is managed and allocated in recent years, from approving a secondary market for spectrum, to creating a national broadband plan, to freeing up TV white spaces, the broadcast waves left dormant by the Digital TV transition. Last week’s spectrum legislation will help us dig deeper into how efficiently spectrum is being used and where pockets of idle spectrum exist.

More good news for consumers: While companies have been developing all of the cool new gadgets you want next, Spectrum Bridge has been quietly but swiftly developing new technologies for increasing spectrum availability and efficiency. The new gadgets consumers will enjoy in the future will be made possible through spectrum allocation software born in our labs. In fact, many of the wireless gadgets and services you use now are already supported by a host of Spectrum Bridge tools and technologies.

In 2008 we launched the world’s first online spectrum exchange, SpecEx.com. SpecEx.com is helping thousands of organizations access spectrum on the secondary market for their wireless operations right now. We’re finding new life for old spectrum – by repurposing certain types of spectrum for new applications.

We’re helping companies find more spectrum through geo partitioning, disaggregation and other on-demand leasing strategies, and helping them maximize their spectrum assets and find new opportunities with SmartWaves, our innovative spectrum intelligence software, all right now.

We’ve been at the forefront in developing mixed spectrum solutions and in developing a groundbreaking TV white spaces database that is helping people all over the US locate available TV white spaces channels in their areas, right now. In October of 2009, under an experimental license, Spectrum Bridge launched the world’s first TV white spaces network, bringing high speed broadband Internet access to the citizens of Claudville, Virginia. Claudville is online right now. (We’ll be updating everyone with a bigger status report on the network and the tremendous impact it has had on the Claudville community in this blog next week.)

We applaud the House for approving these bills for a thorough inventory of the nation's communications spectrum. As FCC Commissioner Meredith Atwell Baker recently said, we need to “leverage the spectrum that exists more efficiently” and “encourage new technologies and innovation.” These two bills will now move to the full House Energy and Commerce panel for consideration, where we hope they will receive equally quick action. American consumers, businesses, our critical infrastructures, and the future of our national best interests deserve nothing less.

Meanwhile, the team at Spectrum Bridge continues to support wireless spectrum needs now and for what’s next. With the spectrum bills in place and many of Spectrum Bridge's innovative spectrum efficiency tools and technologies already in progress, our ultimate vision for making more spectrum available for wireless applications, Universal Spectrum Access, will usher in a more prosperous wireless nation.

We’re working on it, right now.

Tyco Electronics to Build New Rapid Transit Communications System

The Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) agency is now working with Tyco Electronics to deploy a new type of critical communications system. Called OpenSky, the technology will allow tracking of fixed route busses with GPS and provide frequencies to DART Police, light rail, para transit and vehicle lane operations. In addition, rider information such as rail to bus transitions will be linked and tracked.

When complete, the OpenSky solution will be able to handle over 3,000 indoor/outdoor radio users on a cutting edge private voice and data system covering 13 cities. It is based on the widely-accepted IS-732 protocol to support mobile applications with end-to-end TCP/IP connectivity.

Initially operating on DART's 800 and 900 spectrum, the system is a prime example of transportation agencies using wireless to enhance rider experience and streamline operations.

Although DART appears to have sufficient spectrum on-hand for this deployment, other agencies who do not have enough spectrum already available to deploy similar systems can readily buy or lease suitable spectrum on the secondary (i.e. open) market.

View the Tyco press release

Spectrum Marketplace Gets Upgraded

SpecEx, the online marketplace for spectrum™ announced new features for members and visitors this week. An email alert was sent out notifying members and interested parties of the recent upgrades, with a bulleted list of additions:

• Real-time searches for available spectrum – now open to ALL visitors – search now
• Satellite mapping of offered frequencies
• Share, print or bookmark favorite listings
• “Knowledge Center” containing complete historical auction data

These features were added to the original SpecEx features:

• Nationwide spectrum inventory
• Request spectrum you need
• Custom “Watch List” feature
• One-step easy listing of unused spectrum assets
• A growing channel partner program
• Access to spectrum experts

One of the most significant changes to the SpecEx site is the ability for non-members to do a search for available spectrum from the homepage. Earlier versions of the site required membership to search through the marketplace's inventory (with a possible fee attached). But now, with the browsing ability open to all, the SpecEx site has become more friendly to anyone curious to what is accessible on the secondary market.

A Different Perspective on Spectrum

One of the basic tenants of our philosophy is that not all spectrum is created equal. A slice of spectrum has a different value dependent on time, location and application. The following link for an article in Wireless Design Asia has an interesting view of the issues that treating all spectrum the same can cause

Wireless Design Asia - Will US 700MHz Auction Be Remembered for Dismembering Wireless?