TV Spectrum Update National Translator Association Annual Meeting May 2013

Transcription

1 TV Spectrum Update National Translator Association Annual Meeting May 2013 Alan Stillwell FCC/Office of Engineering and Technology

2 Overview TV Spectrum Incentive Auctions OET-69 Software Update TV White Spaces (Unlicensed Operation in the TV Bands) Questions 2

3 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 3

4 TV Spectrum Incentive Auctions

5 What are Spectrum Incentive Auctions? Incentive auctions are a voluntary, marketbased 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. 5

6 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 6

7 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

8 Broadcast Incentive Auction: Objectives Relieve Spectrum Crunch Create market-based process for repurposing maximum amount of UHF spectrum for flexible use Provide for a Healthy Broadcast Industry Statutory Fiscal Objectives Provide unique business opportunity for participating broadcasters Preserve broadcast service for nonparticipating broadcasters Forward auction proceeds must exceed reverse auction payments Cover repacking reimbursement and admin costs Other congressional objectives (FirstNet, deficit reduction) Promote Innovation and a Vibrant Mobile Market Availability of low-band spectrum for a range of mobile broadband providers and a contiguous unlicensed band Launchpad for advanced wireless networks 8

9 Incentive Auction Key Components Broadcasters Offer to relinquish spectrum usage rights Mobile Broadband Providers Offer to purchase spectrum licenses Reverse Auction Integration Forward Auction 9

10 Broadcast Incentive Auction Design Goals Simplicity Efficiency Want to make bidding for TV broadcasters simple because their participation is critical to the success of the auction Measured in terms of both achieving the optimal auction outcome and closing the auction in a timely fashion Transparency Critical for stakeholder buy-in 10

11 Incentive Auction Decision Tree Maximum Opening Bids Reverse Auction 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. Initial spectrum clearing target (# channels) Closing Rule Met? No Reduce spectrum clearing target, continue auctions Minimum Opening Bids Forward Auction 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.) Yes Close Auction Reverse auction: Winning bidders paid last offer they accepted, channels assigned to others Forward auction: Winning bidders go to assignment stage to be assigned specific frequencies 11

12 Who is eligible? Eligibility for Participation in the Reverse Auction 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 air Channel share Move from UHF to VHF 12

13 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 overthe-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 13

14 Participate and Stay on the Air: Channel-Sharing Stations share single transmitter and antenna Current: 12 MHz for Broadcasting Pairing through private negotiations Capital infusion from contribution of spectrum OpEx and CapEx savings Channel 17 WXXX 6 MHz 21 WYYY 6 MHz Each station is licensed portion of 6- megahertz channel Two stations on a channel share 19.4 Mbps Can allocate bandwidth dynamically as needed Each station remains a primary FCC licensee Potential: 6 MHz for Broadcasting 6 MHz for Auction Channel Former 17 Former Call letters, channel guide number (PSIP), other indicia of station identity remain Includes all current licensee rights (e.g., must carry) 6 MHz 14

15 Participate and Stay on the Air: UHF to VHF Current: 6 MHz in UHF 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 Future: 6 MHz in VHF Coverage area may have more interference (indoor, RF devices) Mobile broadcast more difficult 15

16 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 16

17 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 17

18 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) 18

19 Three Options for Preserving Population 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? 19

20 600 MHz Wireless Band Plan Proposal TV Channel LMR TV Channels Lower Guard Band 600 MHz Downlink Channel 37 TV Channels Upper Guard Band 600 MHz Uplink 700 MHz Uplink X cleared Y cleared Frequencies in MHz X Y 698 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 20

21 OET-69 Implementation Improvements 21

22 OET-69 History OET-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 22

23 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 23

24 New OET-69 Software - Public Notice Public Notice issued Feb. 4, DA Released updated OET-69 software and databases Requested comment: Comments were due March 21; replies April 5 Indicated 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: Installation and operating instructions are provided in separate files 24

25 New OET-69 Software - Parameters 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 25

26 TV White Spaces Update

27 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 geolocation capability and database access 27

28 Unlicensed Devices A Wide Variety of Applications Wi-Fi devices - Home and business networks; hot-spots Community, urban & rural broadband networks by WISPs Bluetooth headsets & keyboards Automobile keyless entry Wireless baby monitors In-home video distribution Remote control toys Toy walkie-talkies Utility meter readers & smart grid energy control Tank level meters Traffic light controls Crane controls Lighting controls & dimmers Wireless door bells Cordless phones Garage door opener controls Sensors for automatic doors Industrial automation controls RF ID systems Retail anti-theft systems Security alarm systems Wireless speakers Satellite Radio-to-FM radio Convergence w licensed devices Medical camera pills Medical panic alerts Meat thermometers Inventory control Pool cover controllers Diaper wetness sensor And the list goes on...

29 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 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 29

30 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 30

31 Protection for LPTV/TV Translator Stations - 80-km Waivers 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 31

32 LPTV/TV Translator Station Receive Channels 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: New receive channel input system allows specification of multiple receive channels at a site 32

33 Incentive Auction Impact on 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 33

34 Questions? Thank you! 34