TV Spectrum Update

Alan StillwellFCC/Office of Engineering and Technology

National Translator Association Annual Meeting

May 2013

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Overview

TV Spectrum Incentive AuctionsOET-69 Software Update

TV White Spaces(Unlicensed Operation in the TV Bands)

Questions

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Demand for Spectrum• To meet demand, more spectrum is needed for

wireless broadband– Mobile and fixed licensed broadband service– Unlicensed broadband connectivity and other uses– Projections show demand continuing to increase for

at least the decade • The Administration and FCC have set a goal of making

available an additional 500 megahertz for wireless broadband services within 10 years – Of that, 300 megahertz between 225 MHz and

3.7 GHz should be made available for mobile use by 2015

– National Broadband Plan

TV Spectrum Incentive Auctions

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What are Spectrum Incentive Auctions?

Incentive auctions are a voluntary, market-based means of repurposing spectrum by encouraging licensees to voluntarily relinquish spectrum usage rights in exchange for a share of the proceeds from an auction of new licenses to use the repurposed spectrum.

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TV Broadcast Incentive Auctions• Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012

requires TV spectrum incentive auction

• Incentive auction would share auction proceeds with the current occupant to motivate voluntary relocation of incumbents

• Broadcaster participation in incentive auction is voluntary

• In exchange for a share of auction proceeds a broadcaster could:– Contribute one or more 6 MHz channels– Choose to move from U to V – Share a channel with another broadcaster– Or choose not to participate

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The Broadcast Incentive Auction

• Broad ranging proceeding introducing the concept of incentive auction to help meet U.S. broadband spectrum needs

• Implements 2012 Spectrum Act• Report and Order on channel sharing April 27, 2012• Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on incentive auction

September 28, 2012− Comments received January 25, 2013; replies March 12,

2013− Also received comments on new software for OET Bulletin

No. 69

• FCC goals are to:− Issue Report and Order in 2013− Hold broadcast incentive auction in 2014

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Broadcast Incentive Auction:Objectives

• Create market-based process for repurposing maximum amount of UHF spectrum for flexible use

Relieve Spectrum Crunch

• Forward auction proceeds must exceed reverse auction payments

• Cover repacking reimbursement and admin costs• Other congressional objectives (FirstNet, deficit

reduction)

Statutory Fiscal Objectives

• Provide unique business opportunity for participating broadcasters

• Preserve broadcast service for nonparticipating broadcasters

Provide for a Healthy Broadcast

Industry

• Availability of low-band spectrum for a range of mobile broadband providers and a contiguous unlicensed band

• Launchpad for advanced wireless networks

Promote Innovation and a Vibrant Mobile Market

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Reverse Auction

Forward Auction

Broadcasters• Offer to relinquish

spectrum usage rights

Mobile Broadband Providers

• Offer to purchase spectrum licenses

Integration

Incentive Auction Key Components

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Broadcast Incentive AuctionDesign Goals

• Want to make bidding for TV broadcasters simple because their participation is critical to the success of the auction

Simplicity

• Measured in terms of both achieving the optimal auction outcome and closing the auction in a timely fashion

Efficiency

• Critical for stakeholder buy-inTransparency

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Incentive Auction Decision Tree

Reverse Auction

Forward Auction

Maximum Opening Bids

Minimum Opening Bids

Initialspectrum clearing target (# channels)

No

Yes

Close Auction

Reduce spectrum clearing target, continue auctions

Ascending clock stopping rule: Stops for a license category when there is no excess demand for that category. (The stage ends when all clocks have stopped.)

Reverse auction: Winning bidders paid last offer they accepted, channels assigned to othersForward auction: Winning bidders go to assignment stage to be assigned specific frequencies

Closing Rule Met?

Descending clock stopping rule: Stops for a station when it either has exited or must be cleared to achieve the clearing target. (The stage ends when all clocks have stopped.

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Eligibility for Participation in the Reverse Auction

Who is eligible? • Spectrum Act authorizes full power and Class A stations only

– Primary interference protection– Ceded in exchange for auction proceeds

Who is not eligible?• Station whose license is expired, cancelled or revoked• LPTV and translator stations

– Interference protection is secondary to full power and Class A stations, and new wireless services

Three ways to participate: Go off airChannel shareMove from UHF to VHF

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LPTV/TV Translators

• FCC fully appreciates the important role of LPTV/TV translators in providing TV service to rural areas

– That role is an important factor in our planning - we do not want viewers in rural areas and smaller towns to lose over-the-air television services

• Current plans address full power and class A stations only

– FCC is studying options for LPTV/TV translators to develop an appropriate plan for minimizing the impact on these stations and preserving the services they provide

– Likely to be more channels available for translators in less densely populated areas

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Participate and Stay on the Air: Channel-Sharing

Stations share single transmitterand antenna

Pairing through private negotiationsCapital infusion from contribution of spectrumOpEx and CapEx savings

Each station is licensed portion of 6-megahertz channel

Two stations on a channel share 19.4 MbpsCan allocate bandwidth dynamically as needed

Each station remains a primary FCC licensee

Call letters, channel guide number (PSIP), other indicia of station identity remainIncludes all current licensee rights (e.g.,must carry)

Current: 12 MHz for Broadcasting

6 MHz

Channel 17

6 MHz

WXXX

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WYYY

Channel

6 MHz

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Former 17

Former 21

Potential: 6 MHz for Broadcasting6 MHz for Auction

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Participate and Stay on the Air: UHF to VHF

Station contributes a UHF channel in exchange for auction proceeds and the promise of a VHF channel

Retain 6 megahertz

Can still multicast

Retain must-carry rights

Coverage area may have more interference (indoor, RF devices)

Mobile broadcast more difficult

Current: 6 MHz in UHF

Future: 6 MHz in VHF

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Repacking

FCC is looking to recover contiguous blocks of spectrum (contiguous channels) on a nationwide or market-wide basis

Broadcast service will continue after the auction:– Stations not participating– Stations not purchased in the auction

Stations remaining on the air will be repacked into channels remaining for TV use

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Post-Auction Transition:New Channels

Repacking• Goals are to transition expeditiously/minimize

viewer disruption• Repacked stations will not be able to choose their

new frequencies• May be easier for some stations than others

– New equipment vs. tower enhancements

Reimbursement for Relocation• Congress created $1.75 billion fund• Goal is to balance expediency with avoidance

of waste, fraud and abuse– Fund expires three years after auction “completion”

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Repacking – Service

Legislative mandate:“…make all reasonable efforts to preserve, as of [February 22, 2012], the coverage area and population served of each broadcast television licensee…using the methodology…in OET Bulletin 69…”

For purposes of satisfying this mandate, we interpret:

“Coverage area” = noise limited contour w/o regard to interference from other stations (the area inside the circle)

“Population served” = who receives signal within the coverage area, excluding station interference and terrain obstructions (the green area)

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Three Options for PreservingPopulation Served

#1: Preserve total number of viewers reached by a station

• But the viewers could be different• 0.5% rounding tolerance

#2: Preserve existing viewers• Seeks to preserve the same set of viewers• 0.5% rounding tolerance

#3: Maintains existing pair-wise interference levels, but allows up to 2% between two newly interfering stations

• Should there be an upper limit on total interference?

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600 MHz Wireless Band Plan Proposal

• Amount of spectrum available is auction-dependent: “X cleared” (downlink) and “Y cleared” (uplink)

• Uplink located at channel 51 (698 MHz) and expands downward • Downlink located at channel 36 (608 MHz) and expands

downward • 5 megahertz blocks proposed, paired wherever possible• 6 megahertz guard bands proposed, available for unlicensed use

LMR 700 MHz Uplink

600 MHz DownlinkTV Channels

608 698614470Frequencies in MHz

TV Channels 600 MHz Uplink

Channel 37

Lower G

uard Band

608‐X 698‐Y

Y clearedX cleared

3714TV Channel

Upper G

uard Band

51

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OET-69 Implementation Improvements

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OET-69 HistoryOET-69 is an FCC bulletin from 2004 that “… provides guidance on the implementation and use of Longley-Rice methodology for evaluating TV service coverage and interference ...”

Methodology for predicting coverage and interference

Was originally used to develop the DTV Table of Channel Allotments and to analyze applications to modify those allotments

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New OET-69 Software

The current software is unsuitable for large-scale (nationwide) studies of allotment problems, the FCC therefore requested development of an update to the legacy software

The updated software is called “tvstudy”

To accommodate many of the parameter choices not specified in Bulletin 69 and to allow for the correction of errors discovered in the legacy data and software, tvstudy includes various “soft-switches,” designed to permit the user to understand the effect of the possible implementation options

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New OET-69 Software - Public Notice

Public Notice issued Feb. 4, 2014 - DA 13-138

Released updated OET-69 software and databasesRequested comment: Comments were due March 21; replies April 5Indicated that the Commission plans to use this new software in connection with the proposed broadcast television spectrum incentive auction

TVStudy software and the data to run it available at:http://data.fcc.gov/download/incentive-auctions/OET-69/

Installation and operating instructions are provided in separate files

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Different parameter choices may yield different results for coverage and interference. Some of the parameter choices not specified in Bulletin 69, but which are required to implement in the tvstudy software are:

• Population data• Terrain data• Treatment of bad data in FCC database (CDBS)• Treatment of beam tilt• Calculation of depression angles• Precision/rounding of geographic coordinates• Establishment of calculation grid• Treatment of internal (Longley-Rice) errors

New OET-69 Software - Parameters

TV White Spaces Update

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TV White Space Rules

• Provide for operation of unlicensed devices on unused frequencies in the TV bands

• Provide protection for licensed services (TV, land mobile, B/C low power auxiliary, some others)

• Available channels identified through geo-location capability and database access

Unlicensed DevicesA Wide Variety of Applications

Wi-Fi devices - Home and business networks; hot-spotsCommunity, urban & rural broadband networks by WISPsBluetooth headsets & keyboardsAutomobile keyless entryWireless baby monitors In-home video distributionRemote control toysToy walkie-talkiesUtility meter readers & smart grid energy controlTank level metersTraffic light controlsCrane controlsLighting controls & dimmersWireless door bells

Cordless phonesGarage door opener controlsSensors for automatic doors Industrial automation controlsRF ID systemsRetail anti-theft systems Security alarm systems Wireless speakersSatellite Radio-to-FM radioConvergence w licensed devices Medical camera pillsMedical panic alertsMeat thermometersInventory controlPool cover controllersDiaper wetness sensorAnd the list goes on . . .

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Benefits of TV White Space Use• Prime spectrum

– Great propagation & coverage– High amounts in much of the USA– Close to spectrum used by commercial wireless services - - potential

synergy

• New IEEE 802.22™ standard: – IEEE SA Emerging Technology of the Year Award– Broadband wireless access over a large area up to 100 km– Up to 29 Mbps per TV channel– Can increase data rate through use of multiple channels

Wi-Fi & TV White Space is not an either-or proposition:– Each may suit particular needs– Wi-Fi has greater bandwidth but usage density is increasing– When combined consumers & users could see significant benefits

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TVWS Current Status

• Final Rules (Second Memorandum Opinion and Order) - 9/23/10- Third Memorandum Opinion and Order - 4/4/12

• Two databases authorized:- Spectrum Bridge- Telcordia Technologies

• Two databases recently completed 45-day trials:- Google- Keybridge Global

• 3 devices authorized- Others expected soon

Protection for LPTV/TV Translator Stations - “80-km” Waivers

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• Under the rules, LPTV, TV translator and MVPD receive sites are protected to 80 km from the edge of a station’s service contour– There are receive sites more than 80 km from station contours– Commission set up a waiver process

• Order issued June 1, 2012 granting waivers for 54 individual facilities; also found:– Some sites within contours of received station– Somes site within 80 km of contours of received stations

LPTV/TV Translator StationReceive Channels

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• After the DTV transition, many LPTV/translator stations’ receive channels changed; many stations did not report new receive channels to the FCC– New receive channels for those stations are not

in the CDBS– To protect receive sites, the database

administrators need stations’ receive channels• Stations need to make sure the FCC has their

current receive channels• OET and MB have activated a system to facilitate

input of receive channel changes: https://apps.fcc.gov/oet/translator/

• New receive channel input system allows specification of multiple receive channels at a site

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Incentive Auction Impacton TV White Space

• Guard bands and unlicensed use:- FCC may implement band plans with guard bands- Guard bands shall be no larger than is technically reasonable

to prevent harmful interference between licensed services outside the guard bands

- May permit use of guard bands for unlicensed- Unlicensed use shall rely on a database or subsequent

methodology as determined by the Commission

• There will be white space

• Amount & location TBD through rule making

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Questions?

Thank you!