Investigation into US Radio Spectrum Policy and Management An Interactive Qualifying Project Report Submitted to the Faculty of the WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Science By Robert A. Over 4/26 /2012 Project Advisor – Professor David I. Spanagel Project Advisor – Professor Alexander M. Wyglinski This report represents work of WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its web site without editorial or peer review. For more information about the projects program at WPI, see http://www.wpi.edu/Academics/Projects . Table of Contents 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 7 2 Background ................................................................................................................................... 11 2.1 Radio Spectrum Establishment ............................................................................................... 11 2.1.1 TV Broadcast Frequency Bands ....................................................................................... 12 2.1.2 Mobile Communications Frequency Bands ..................................................................... 15 2.2 Governance and Regulation ................................................................................................... 17 2.2.1 History of US Government Radio Regulation ................................................................... 17 2.2.2 Federal Communications Commission, FCC..................................................................... 19 2.2.3 National Telecommunication Initiative Administration, NTIA .......................................... 19 2.2.4 Licensing ........................................................................................................................ 19 2.3 The National Broadband Plan ................................................................................................. 20 3 Methodology ................................................................................................................................. 22 3.1 Has the US Spectrum Policy been appropriately enhanced? ................................................... 22 3.2 Has the US Spectrum Management provided all Americans access to Mobile Broadband? ..... 22 3.3 Was selling blocks of spectrum bands at auction the best approach? ..................................... 23 3.4 Are the American people getting the “best bang for the buck”? ............................................. 23 3.5 Has the US established a Competitive Environment for US Radio Services? ............................ 23 3.6 Have we embraced new technologies well for optimal spectrum use? ................................... 24 4 Findings and Discussion ................................................................................................................. 25 4.1 Problems with the current Spectrum Management scheme ................................................... 25 4.2 Recent Spectrum Management Initiatives .............................................................................. 26 4.2.1 Frequency Band Repurposing Initiatives from the Federal Government .......................... 27 4.3 Benefits of Additional Spectrum to Broadband ....................................................................... 28 4.3.1 Mobile Broadband Demand ............................................................................................ 28 4.3.2 Broadband Capacity and Cell-Site Spectral Efficiency ...................................................... 30 4.3.3 Spectrum Utilization Projection Model using Broadband Data Growth Rate ................... 31 4.3.4 Spectrum Utilization Projection Model using Cell-Site Growth Rate ................................ 33 4.4 Spectrum Analysis: Options for TV Broadcast Spectrum ......................................................... 36 4.4.1 Characteristics of TV Broadcast Bands ............................................................................ 36 4.4.2 Value of TV Broadcast Bands to the Mobile Broadband Industry ..................................... 37 4.4.3 Elimination of TV Broadcast Interference Protection bands ............................................ 38 Investigation into US Radio Spectrum Policy and Management 2 4.4.4 Elimination of some TV Broadcast Licensing Restrictions ................................................ 40 4.4.5 Public Interest Trade-Off: Free Broadcast TV versus Broadband ...................................... 40 4.4.6 Computational Analysis Methods ................................................................................... 42 4.4.7 Results from Scenario Evaluation and Model Creation .................................................... 42 4.5 US Spectrum Auctions ............................................................................................................ 43 4.5.1 Case Study: 1900 MHz Band Auctions ............................................................................ 43 4.5.2 Case Study: 2.5 GHz Band Auctions ................................................................................. 46 4.5.3 Case Study: 1.7 GHz and 2.1 GHz Auctions ..................................................................... 49 4.5.4 Case Study: 700MHz Band Auctions ................................................................................ 52 4.6 The 700 MHz Band Spectrum Dividend ................................................................................... 57 4.6.1 Attractive Characteristics of the 700 MHz Band .............................................................. 57 4.6.2 Anti-competitive practices and the 700 MHz band .......................................................... 58 4.6.3 Proposed Remedy to Anti-competitive practices in the Wireless Industry ....................... 59 4.7 Global Spectrum Policy and Development .............................................................................. 60 4.7.1 International Standards Bodies ....................................................................................... 60 4.7.2 International Spectrum Decisions ................................................................................... 61 4.7.3 Mobile Communication Standards .................................................................................. 62 4.7.4 Spectrum Decisions made at WRC conferences .............................................................. 62 4.7.5 International Digital TV Switchover ................................................................................. 64 4.7.6 UK Spectrum .................................................................................................................. 65 4.7.7 New Zealand Spectrum ................................................................................................... 71 4.7.8 Canada Spectrum ........................................................................................................... 75 4.7.9 Japan Spectrum .............................................................................................................. 80 4.7.10 India Spectrum ............................................................................................................... 84 4.7.11 China Spectrum .............................................................................................................. 87 4.7.12 Trinidad and Tobago Spectrum ....................................................................................... 91 4.8 Real-time Spectrum Measurement ......................................................................................... 95 4.8.1 Spectrum Occupancy Measurements by SharedSpectrum Co. ........................................ 95 4.8.2 Quantitative Assessment of Wireless Spectrum Measurements for CrownCom 2009 ...... 97 4.8.3 Wireless Spectrum Characterization for Toyota 2009...................................................... 97 4.8.4 Feasibility Analysis of Vehicular Dynamic Spectrum Access for VNC 2010 ....................... 98 4.9 Expanding Wireless Broadband in Rural America .................................................................... 99 4.9.1 Broadband Initiatives Program ..................................................................................... 100 4.10 Sharing Spectrum Usage Rights ............................................................................................ 100 4.10.1 Spectrum Usage Regimes, Exclusive and Shared ........................................................... 100 Investigation into US Radio Spectrum Policy and Management 3 4.10.2 FCC Spectrum Policy Task Force .................................................................................... 101 4.10.3 Current FCC Spectrum Policy Models ............................................................................ 102 4.10.4 Proposed Changes from the Spectrum Rights and Responsibilities WG ......................... 103 4.11 New Technologies for Spectrum Use .................................................................................... 104 4.11.1 Software Defined Radios and Cognitive Radios ............................................................. 104 4.11.2 IEEE 802.22 Wireless Regional Area Networks using Cognitive Radios ........................... 107 4.11.3 Lightsquared ...............................................................................................................