Wireless Broadband Service in Rural America Rural TeleCon ‘06October 24, 2006

Paul D’Ari

Spectrum Competition and Policy Division

Federal Communications Commission

Access to Broadband is Essential

• “Broadband technology is a key driver of economic growth. . . Perhaps most important, broadband has the potential to affect almost every aspect of our lives. . . The United States and the Commission have a long history and tradition of making sure that rural areas of the country are connected and have the same opportunities for communications as urban areas.” Chairman Kevin Martin

Promoting Universal Access to Broadband Service is a Priority

• Encouraging the deployment of broadband services to all Americans is the top priority of Chairman Martin.

• President Bush’s stated goal is to have universal, affordable access to broadband technology by the end of 2007.

• Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 requires the Commission to encourage the deployment of advanced telecommunications capabilities to all Americans.

Wireless Broadband Services: Great Potential for Rural Areas

• Wireless broadband often can reach remote and sparsely populated areas more efficiently than other broadband technologies.

• Wireless broadband services can be provided using both licensed and unlicensed spectrum.

Wireless Broadband Licensed Services Growing Rapidly

• Next generation wireless services with broadband capabilities began in 2003.

• By the end of 2005, broadband wireless coverage climbed to over 60 percent of the total U.S. population.

Licensed Services:Addressing Rural Needs with Smaller

Geographic Areas

• Geographic licensing areas can be designed to improve access to spectrum by small and rural service providers.

• 734 MSAs/RSAs (a.k.a. Cellular Market Areas) are smallest geographic areas licensed by the Commission, and they are scaled to meet the needs of service providers in small markets and rural areas.

• The Commission has stated that it is important to consider the use of smaller geographic areas such as MSAs/RSAs.

Regional Economic Area Groupings

Small Geographic Area Licensing for AWS

• Last month, the Commission auctioned 90 megahertz of spectrum in the Advanced Wireless Services auction.

• It auctioned 20 megahertz of this spectrum on the basis of RSAs/MSAs.

• Nearly all of the 734 RSA/MSA licenses were sold at auction.

Small Geographic Area Licensing for 700 MHz Band

• Between 2002 and 2005, the Commission auctioned 12 megahertz of spectrum in the 700 MHz Band on the basis of RSAs/MSAs.

• The Commission issued licenses for all 734 RSAs/MSAs.

Future Spectrum for Wireless Services

• Lower and Upper 700 MHz Bands(84 MHz commercial, 24 MHz public safety)

• Advanced Wireless Services (AWS)(130 MHz total for commercial use)

• Public Safety(an additional 50 MHz in the 4.9 GHz

band)• 3650-3700 MHz Band

(50 MHz for a hybrid approach)

700 MHz NPRM Focuses on Rural Themes

• 700 MHz NPRM revisits the service rules by largely focusing on how to provide greater access to spectrum in rural areas.

• Seeks comment on whether the Commission should auction and license additional spectrum on the basis of small geographic areas.

• Seeks comment on whether to revise other rules, including the size of spectrum blocks and performance requirements to promote the deployment of service to rural areas.

Other Commission Actions to Improve Access to Broadband

Service in Rural Areas

• Federal Rural Wireless Outreach Initiative (with the Rural Utilities Service)

• Security Interests in Licenses (with RUS)• Infrastructure Sharing• Increased Power Levels in Rural Areas • Leasing/Partitioning/Disaggregation• Bidding Credits for Small Businesses • Tribal Lands Bidding Credit

Unlicensed Devices

• FCC issues equipment authorizations in lieu of licenses

• Operating Conditions: may not cause harmful interference and must accept interference received from licensed operations.

Unlicensed Devices - continued

• Examples: cordless phones, baby monitors, home security systems, wireless internet services.

• Currently providing service in 902-928 MHz, 2.4 GHz, and 5 GHz Bands.

• Well-suited to low power, high bandwidth applications, and Wi-Fi is growing rapidly.

Unlicensed Services:Another Avenue to Bring Broadband

to Rural Areas

• Wireless Internet Service Providers (WISPs) use unlicensed spectrum to provide broadband wireless services to rural and underserved areas.

• WISPs are not just the “last mile” as they often provide the last 30 or 50 miles.

WISP Radio Equipment

WISP radio transmitter equipment on a grain elevator in Grimes, Iowa.

Additional Spectrum for Unlicensed on Vacant TV Channels

• Earlier this month, the Commission decided to allow unlicensed devices to provide fixed services on TV channels 5-13, 21-36, and 38-51 in areas where those frequencies are not being used for TV or other licensed services.

• In a Further Notice, the Commission sought comment on whether unlicensed devices should be permitted on TV channels 2-4 and 14-20.

• The Commission needs to adopt final technical rules before this spectrum can be used for unlicensed service, but the permitted unlicensed services in this spectrum will include broadband internet access.

Thank You!!

Paul D’Ari

Spectrum and Competition

Policy Division

FCC

(202) 418-1550

Paul.Dari@fcc.gov