• By
  • Thomas Gryta



The FCC proposal relates to wireless spectrum in the 3.5 gigahertz band that is mostly used for military and satellite purposes now. Prime spectrum is generally below 1 gigahertz.

The airwaves in question aren’t useful for traditional wireless service, because signals don’t travel as far and they have a hard time getting through walls.

But those same properties could make those airwaves useful for deploying small cells–essentially miniature cell towers that can be densely deployed to bring wireless service to high-traffic areas or within buildings.

Because these airwaves don’t travel as far, a military base or hospital down the street from an AT&T small cell in theory could use the same frequency without running the risk of interference.

The FCC’s original proposal from December highlights all of this, but suggests a three-tiered system for access to the spectrum: first priority is current users; second priority would be hospitals, utilities and government; then would come everyone else.

AT&T and Google want to be part of the second tier in order to have greater access. The commission should “open up the secondary exclusive tier to any applicant that commits to a substantial service requirement,” the companies said in the letter. The third tier would “permit innovative unlicensed access” for areas not already in use.

Why is Google involved? A Google spokeswoman wouldn’t say, but a complex database will be needed to effectively manage use of the frequency by wireless devices to avoid interference.

An AT&T spokesman highlighted Google’s experience with managing such data, as it is doing with “white space,” a term that refers to unused airwaves that are typically used by television stations.

Google was recently selected by Starbucks to succeed AT&T in delivering Wi-Fi Internet access in the company’s cafés.



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