Innovation, Collaboration and Sharing in the 3.5 GHz Band

In an important step toward meeting President Obama’s goal of making 500 megahertz of spectrum available for mobile broadband by 2020, the Federal Communications Commission approved an innovative regulatory framework that will enable access to 100 megahertz of spectrum in the 3550-3650 MHz (3.5 GHz) band. The action grew out of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s October 2010 “fast track” evaluation report that identified the 3.5 GHz band as an important band to explore to help meet the 500 megahertz commitment and address surging demand for commercial wireless broadband.

NTIA’s fast track report proposed shared commercial and federal use of the 3.5 GHz band as long as geographic exclusion zones protected critical high-powered radar systems operated by the Department of Defense (DoD). However, NTIA recognized that large exclusion zones could hamper the deployment of commercial broadband services. To address this, NTIA engineers spearheaded groundbreaking analysis and modeling techniques and collaborated closely with DoD and FCC staff. This team effort resulted in significantly reduced exclusion zones, maximizing the commercial market potential for new broadband services. These results, along with a pioneering regulatory framework that relies on technical solutions to minimize the impact of these zones, are the foundation of the FCC’s new rules.