IP: A Precious Resource At Risk

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

------ Forwarded Message
From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne () warpspeed com>
Reply-To: dewayne () warpspeed com
Date: Tue, 26 Feb 2002 23:54:54 -0800
To: "Dewayne-Net Technology List" <dewayne-net () warpspeed com>
Subject: A Precious Resource At Risk

[Note:  A friend sent me this article.  In the past on this list,
I've mentioned the IRAC and how they are really the 'power behind the
throne' on all spectrum policy and allocation matters in this
country.  One of the problems is that there power is a well kept
secret and it is very rare that an article on them ever appears.  My
telecom attorney today told me half jokingly that he doubted if there
had been an article on IRAC in print since 1923!  The article from
April, 2000, does a good job of telling what IRAC is and the power
they have and the problem that they presented at the time.  This
problem was not fixed as the article pointed out that it should have.
The IRAC is behind the very restrictive UWB rules that the FCC just
passed.  They meet in secret and there is no 'Court of Appeals' for
their decisions!  DLH]

A Precious Resource At Risk

BY SCOTT BLAKE HARRIS

If you are a farmer, water is everything. If it does not rain, crops
will die. The grass will turn brown, and animals will have nothing to
eat. All will be lost.

Scott Blake Harris The satellite industry is not much different.
Spectrum is as important to the satellite industry as water is to the
farmer. Without spectrum, the industry can die. Thus those with
responsibility for protecting the spectrum must do so wisely.

Unfortunately, our bureaucracies have been far too cavalier in how
they treat this vital and valuable resource. They tend to put
bureaucratic interests ahead of public interest, to the degree they
consider public interest at all. And in so doing, they put the
satellite industry (and the terrestrial wireless industry too) at
risk.

The basic problem, of course, is that one use of the spectrum can
interfere with another. If a satellite is using one orbital location
and frequency, another satellite cannot use that same orbital
location and frequency. Similarly, if a frequency band is used for
high-density terrestrial services, it cannot be used for high-density
satellite services.

This means the spectrum must be allocated to different uses and
licensed to different entities. Alternatively, it means rules must be
established so--with mandated constraints--two different services or
licensees can use the same spectrum at the same time without
interfering with one another.

The vitality (and indeed the future) of the satellite industry
depends upon decisions about spectrum allocation and usage. For the
commercial satellite industry in the U.S., these decisions are made
by the Federal Communications Commission. Under the leadership of
Chairman William Kennard, and with the assistance of Commissioner
Susan Ness, the FCC has generally done an excellent job.

Unfortunately, however, the FCC often cannot act entirely on its own.
The problem is that the federal government competes with the private
sector (and local governments) for use of the spectrum. According to
the Commerce Dept., 1.4% of the spectrum has been allocated for
exclusive federal government use. Another 5.5% of the spectrum has
been allocated exclusively for commercial use. This means that 93.1%
of the spectrum is shared among all users.

While the FCC makes the rules governing the allocation and use of all
commercial and shared spectrum, it must pay great deference to the
concerns expressed by the National Telecommunications and Information
Administration (NTIA) which represents government spectrum
users--particularly with regard to shared spectrum. Unfortunately,
the NTIA formulates most of its spectrum policy views through the
little-known, but powerful, Interdepartmental Radio Advisory
Committee (IRAC). The IRAC is composed of engineers from government
agencies that use the radio spectrum.

Perhaps not surprisingly, each agency in IRAC jealously guards its
own turf and parochial interests. Thus, for example, the FAA is only
concerned about its use of the spectrum. And the Army is concerned
only with its use. And, as with any group of this nature, one must go
along to get along. So if the FAA wants something, the Army is likely
to say yes--if only so that when the Army wants something, the FAA
will agree.

Nowhere in the IRAC process is the public interest represented. And
since the NTIA usually just mimics the IRAC's spectrum policy views,
the views presented to the FCC by the NTIA often reflect bureaucratic
politics, not sound policy. Yet the FCC feels it must defer to these
views, which are always wrapped in compelling rhetoric about national
security and public safety. It is this grafting of bureaucratic
politics onto spectrum policy that risks undermining satellite
industry growth.

Fortunately, all is not lost. First, the FCC is not required to defer
to the views of the NTIA. The FCC has its own technical experts who
are well aware that much of the spectrum advice from NTIA reflects
neither sound engineering, nor sound policy. The FCC should be
encouraged by industry, and even more so by Congress, simply to do
what it knows to be right on spectrum issues. If it does, all will be
well. Second, and perhaps most importantly, there is a new Assistant
Secretary in charge of NTIA, Greg Rohde. He is smart, experienced and
understands the problem. Rohde has also made resolving this problem
one of his top priorities. But there are powerful institutional
forces that are not with him. Industry should be. It must make its
support for his efforts at reforming NTIA spectrum policy a top
priority. If it does, there will be even more reason for hope.

Scott Blake Harris (sharris () harriswiltshire com), the former head of
the FCC's International Bureau, is managing partner of Harris
Wiltshire & Grannis LLP, a Washington law firm. All views expressed
are his own.

Source:  Aviation Week, April 4, 2000



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