Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Pentagon and Companies in Agreement on Spectrum

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 01 Feb 2003 12:25:20 -0500

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/01/technology/01SPEC.html?th

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February 1, 2003

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Pentagon and Companies in Agreement on Spectrum
By JENNIFER 8. LEE

ASHINGTON, Jan. 31 — Technology companies and the Pentagon have reached an agreement to unlock a swath of spectrum for the next generation of wireless devices, officials said today.

The companies said this would lift the popularity of high-speed wireless Internet service, a bright spot in an otherwise moribund industry.

For the military, the agreement wards off an emerging threat to their radar systems by setting detailed technical mechanisms to deal with interference.

"The Pentagon was very concerned that wireless devices were popping up in what has historically been a radar band," said Steven Price, deputy assistant secretary of defense for spectrum and command, control and communications policy.

Spectrum has become a battleground the last few years among the competing interests of consumers, the technology industry, the military and other government agencies.

Michael K. Powell, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, has advocated change, citing the need to open more unlicensed spectrum.

Spectrum is the technology industry's most valuable — though invisible — real estate. It is measured by its frequency, usually in units of kilohertz, megahertz or gigahertz. The most desirable property is below 3 gigahertz because that is a range where portable devices can generally emit and receive signals economically. As technology advances, however, consumer devices can take advantage of higher frequencies.

The new agreement will give technology companies access to 255 megahertz of unlicensed spectrum around the 5-gigahertz band, a large amount of band close to premium spectrum that can be described as "a block or two off the beach."

There is currently about 200 megahertz of spectrum for outdoor use under the 3-gigahertz range, but it is cluttered with items like garage door openers, baby monitors and cordless phones.

The 5-gigahertz range opens a new arena for the industry's next generation of wireless technology, including 802.11a, one of the so-called Wi-Fi standards that is many times faster than the popular 802.11b used in coffee shops, offices and parks across the country for Internet connections.

"This is undeveloped property," said Scott Blake Harris, a lawyer who represented large technology concerns in the negotiations. "The 5-gigahertz band is so much less developed, so much cleaner."

While this agreement represents a policy position, it is completely balanced on technological compromise. Military and industry engineers worked around the clock for the last several weeks to determine specifications that could both adequately protect the military's radar without being overly sensitive. Under the agreement, the wireless devices and radar will share the spectrum but the devices will be designed to jump to another frequency when they sense radar operating in their range.

The time pressure was exerted by an approaching World Radio Conference, a biennial meeting under the aegis of the United Nations at which international spectrum allocations are ironed out.

While the conference does not take place until June, the United States needs several months to lobby other nations to share its position. Despite the worldwide influence of both the United States military and technology companies, each nation has a single vote at the conference.

"It would have been a much more difficult scenario for the U.S. position without a unified delegation," Mr. Price said.

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