SB QST @ ARL $ARLB018   
   ARLB018 ARRL Again Asks FCC to Elevate Amateur Service 2300-2305 MHz   
   Allocation to Primary   
      
   ZCZC AG18   
   QST de W1AW   
   ARRL Bulletin 18  ARLB018   
   > From ARRL Headquarters   
   Newington CT  October 1, 2014   
   To all radio amateurs   
      
   SB QST ARL ARLB018   
   ARLB018 ARRL Again Asks FCC to Elevate Amateur Service 2300-2305 MHz   
   Allocation to Primary   
      
   In comments filed in response to an AT&T Mobility Petition for Rule   
   Making seeking a new air-to-ground communications system on 2.3 GHz   
   Wireless Communications Service (WCS) spectrum, the ARRL has once   
   again asked the FCC to elevate the Amateur Service allocation at   
   2300 to 2305 MHz from secondary to primary. The Petition (RM-11731)   
   asked the Commission to authorize an LTE-based in-flight   
   connectivity service in the WCS "C" and "D" blocks (2305-2315 MHz   
   and 2350-2360 MHz, respectively) for airlines and airline   
   passengers. AT&T has asserted that restrictions on out-of-band   
   emission and power limits to protect adjacent-band users make the   
   use of the C and D blocks problematic. The wireless provider asked   
   the FCC for rule changes to permit deployment of its service "using   
   currently fallow spectrum" while also "preserving adequate   
   interference protection to users of adjacent bands."   
      
   "Notwithstanding this broad and nebulous claim, there is no showing   
   anywhere in the four corners of the Petition that the proposed rule   
   changes would permit any continued Amateur Radio operations on a   
   secondary basis in the shared A block (2305-2310 MHz)," the ARRL   
   commented on September 22. More to the point, the League said, there   
   is no showing in the Petition that Amateur Radio operations in the   
   adjacent 2300-2350 MHz band would be protected from increased   
   out-of-band emissions, if the FCC were to implement the changes   
   requested.   
      
   The League asserted in its comments that the FCC has, to date,   
   "failed to protect Amateur Radio operations at 2300-2305 MHz from   
   WCS out-of-band emissions." The ARRL said the band is "regularly and   
   substantially utilized by radio amateurs" for weak-signal,   
   long-distance communication and, only by circumstances - a lack of a   
   primary occupant - has it been able to enjoy that segment as a de   
   facto primary user.   
      
   "The Commission's rules are quite clear that WCS licensees enjoy no   
   entitlement to disrupt adjacent-band radio service operations," the   
   ARRL commented. But, the League pointed out, previous FCC actions to   
   expand mobile broadband devices left 2300-2305 MHz vulnerable to   
   increased out-of-band interference that would be difficult or   
   impossible to mitigate. The ARRL said amateur stations operating in   
   the 2300-2305 MHz band would be unable to avoid interference from AT   
   and T Mobility's proposed system, and that the FCC has refused to   
   clarify the obligation of WCS mobile providers to avoid interference   
   to Amateur Radio operations there.   
      
   The ARRL objected to what it called the FCC's "practice of making   
   allocation decisions which place incompatible uses in close   
   proximity to amateur stations and then place on the amateur   
   licensees the burden of avoiding the interference."   
      
   "It is obvious that the result of the AT&T Petition will be a   
   virtual preclusion of amateur access to the 2305-2310 MHz segment,"   
   the ARRL's comments continued. "A ubiquitous air-to-ground system   
   which operates at and above 2305 MHz will clearly render the   
   secondary allocation status of that segment a virtual nullity."   
      
   The ARRL asked the FCC to recognize Amateur Radio's "de facto   
   primary status" at 2300-2305 MHz and to elevate that segment from   
   secondary to primary for amateurs. It further called on the   
   Commission to "clarify the obligation of WCS licensees in all   
   contexts to protect the adjacent-band Amateur Service operations at   
   2300-2305 MHz from harmful interference." Finally, the League   
   requested that AT&T provide "a complete technical compatibility   
   showing and interference analysis" that would demonstrate   
   compatibility between its proposed service and amateur operations at   
   2300-2305 MHz.   
   NNNN   
   /EX   
      
      
   )\/(ark   
      
   If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until   
   you hire an amateur.   
      
   --- FMail/Win32 1.60   
    * Origin:  (1:3634/12.71)