June 2, 2016–Cisco Systems, Inc., Public Knowledge, and WifiForward said today they are pleased with the FCC’s release yesterday of a public notice seeking to refresh its record in the 5.9 gigahertz band proceeding ahead of planned testing to analyze whether connected-vehicle and Wi-Fi applications are able to share the spectrum (TRDaily, June 1). The public notice sets a July 30 deadline for the submission of prototype unlicensed devices and a Jan. 15, 2017, deadline for the completion of testing.
“The 5.9 GHz Public Notice is an important milestone in advancing the robust use of the U-NII-4 band,” Mary Brown, Cisco’s senior director-government affairs, told TRDaily. “Primary users need to understand what rules unlicensed devices will follow so that they can evaluate how the sharing technique will impact their use of the band. At the same time, the unlicensed industry needs clarity on what approach is acceptable to regulators and incumbents in order to provide developmental focus on the preferred approach. The Public Notice sets up this process quite nicely.
“Cisco will continue to champion a detect and avoid approach to sharing with DSRC [dedicated short-range communications] and looks forward to assisting the FCC in developing the record on the technology capabilities that are available to facilitate sharing,” Ms. Brown added.
“It is important to recognize both that January 15 is a final deadline, and that testing can and should be completed well before that,” Harold Feld, senior vice president of Public Knowledge, told TRDaily. “Importantly, even if testing is not completely finished until January 15, the FCC may well have sufficient information to adopt a framework order on an approach much earlier and will use the testing to set final parameters.”
WifiForward said, “We applaud the release of this Public Notice, which creates a potential pathway to sharing the 5.9 GHz band in a way that would benefit the millions of Americans who rely on Wi-Fi and other unlicensed technologies, while also supporting the future development of automotive safety-of-life applications. The Obama Administration, the FCC, and bipartisan congressional leaders like Senators [Marco] Rubio [R., Fla.] and [Cory] Booker [D., N.J.] have all recognized the need to make additional wireless spectrum available for consumers. We look forward to working with the FCC to implement a sharing approach that maximizes the benefits of these public airwaves for everyone.” – Paul Kirby, paul.kirby@wolterskluwer.com
Courtesy TRDaily