Another Ajit Pai plan could harm weather forecasts, expert groups warn

Meteorologists and other experts are urging the Federal Communications Commission to drop a spectrum-sharing plan that they say could interfere with transmissions of weather-satellite imagery. The dispute is over the 1675-1680MHz frequencies and is separate from the other FCC/weather controversy, which involves the 24GHz band and has pitted the FCC against NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the US Navy. 

The American Geophysical Union (AGU), American Meteorological Society (AMS), and National Weather Association (NWA) told the FCC in a filing that its plan for 1675-1680MHz should be scrapped because of the "likelihood of interference with the reception of weather satellite imagery and relayed environmental data to receive-only antennas that members of America's weather, water, and climate enterprise use." The 1675-1680MHz band is used today by NOAA for government-owned satellites that transmit data to antennas on the ground, but the Ajit Pai-led FCC has proposed rules that would force federal government users to share the spectrum with wireless broadband services. The FCC is targeting the 1675-1680MHz band in part because it is adjacent to 1670-1675MHz, which is already allocated for wireless services.

Reallocation of the spectrum is needed for "the nation's wireless networks [to] keep pace with ever-increasing demand for wireless broadband," the FCC plan said. The FCC is taking public comments on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking until July 22 before making a final decision. If the FCC gives final approval to the plan, the commission would use an auction to sell licenses in the 1675-1680MHz band to wireless-network operators.