Don’t allow white space devices above 608 MHz, ISED hears

Innovation Canada (ISED) is hearing from both telecoms and broadcasters that it should go ahead with its proposal to limit white space devices to bands below 608 MHz, though for very different reasons. The Radio Advisory Board of Canada, whose membership includes BCE Inc., Telus Corp., Rogers Communications Inc., CBC/Radio-Canada, and the Canadian Association of Broadcasters, noted in a submission that mobile service providers “believe that the 617-698 MHz band will be very important for commercial mobile services in Canada going forward and should be protected from potential interference” from white space devices. They said that limitation should stay “until there is substantial, experiential evidence from the U.S. showing there will be no risk to mobile licensed users in the 600 MHz band.” ISED launched a consultation on white space devices and wireless microphones last November, including its plans to transition wireless microphones away from the 614‑698 MHz frequency band and asking for input on white space devices, which operate in bands designated as white space using opportunistic spectrum access techniques. Fixed white space devices can be used to provide services like wireless broadband access, while personal or portable white space devices “can take the form of devices such as Wi-Fi-like cards in laptop computers or wireless in-home local area networks,” according to a document published by the FCC in 2016. A white space device sends its geographical location to a database, “which in return provides it with a list of available channels,” ISED, which named a white space database administrator late last year, said in the consultation. ISED said at the time that the white space framework “is a first step towards enabling dynamic spectrum access techniques and opportunities for further innovation in wireless technology.” It published the responses on its website on Feb. 21. RABC’s submission also outlined that broadcasters wanted the white space devices limited to ensure they can keep using wireless microphones until they are forced off the 600 MHz spectrum in a few years, when it moves over to mobile use. A start date for the 600 MHz auction still has not been set, though ISED wrapped up its consultation on the issue last November. “Unlicensed wireless microphones (“WMs”), cameras and intercom equipment have become an integral part of local television station operations because of their flexibility and rapid deployment for news gathering, special events and in-studio uses,” according to the broadcasters, the RABC document outlined. “Much of that new equipment operates in the 600 MHz band. When mobile services are deployed in the 600 MHz Band, broadcasters will be required to abandon these investments and, again, purchase new equipment costing millions of dollars more,” it said. That already happened once before, when broadcasters were moved off the 700 MHz band seven years ago, and broadcasters had to invest millions to replace obsolete equipment, it said, noting one “television group alone spent $1 million to replace 700 MHz equipment and now estimates over $1.6 million to replace 600 MHz equipment.” Broadcasters have repeatedly asked to be compensated for the new move off the 600 MHz. It asked that the broadcasters be able to continue using the wireless microphones “for as long as possible until mobile services are actually deployed several years from now in each region of the country,” in order to preserve the value of those equipment investments “for a number of years,” the CAB said. “Restricting the use, at this time, of White Space Devices to spectrum below 608 MHz will allow for a gradual attrition of existing users of the 600 MHz Band until this spectrum is deployed by mobile services. This will preserve the value of equipment investments for a number of years,” it argued. However, other RABC members, including the Canadian Association of Wireless Internet Service Providers (CanWISP) and manufacturers of white space devices, opposed the proposal to limit the devices to sub-608 MHz spectrum because they support full harmonization with what the U.S. is planning and believe ISED’s proposal “would constitute a significant deviation” from that. It would “effectively prevent WSDs from being able to access a very large amount of spectrum (as much as 79MHz) that is currently available for use by WSDs in the U.S. This will be a significant impediment to the successful utilization and development of WSD technology in Canada,” they argued, noting that the FCC has allowed use of the devices in spectrum above 608 MHz. Because the U.S. is further ahead of its plans for the 600 MHz, there is no reason to hold back spectrum, since any potential issues with using the devices will become apparent in the U.S. before Canada rolls out its system, they said. The Dynamic Spectrum Alliance, an international consortium that includes global giants such as Facebook Inc. and Google Inc., said in its own submission that it also disagrees with ISED’s plan to limit white space devices to sub-608 MHz spectrum, noting that it “believes that the build-out of 600 MHz networks in the more rural and remote parts of these service areas may take several years.” “In the interim, there is an opportunity to use this otherwise fallow spectrum for white space device use, subject to technical rules, with spectrum access provided through a white spaces database.” Overall, there was general agreement on ISED’s proposal to continue barring white space devices in channel 37, or 608-614 MHz, including from RABC members. General Electric Co.’s health division said it was concerned about the potential “of harmful interference would pose to safety-of-life wireless medical telemetry systems (WMTS).” Such systems, which GE’s submission said play an increasingly important role in the health care system, allow health providers to monitor patient data, such as heart rate and oxygen, remotely in real time. They also “cannot tolerate even small or episodic incidents of interference. For example, a single source of interference can cripple an entire WMTS and be extremely difficult to identify, all the while endangering patients and diverting the attention of hospital staff.” The channel is also used for radio astronomy, with ISED receiving a submission from National Research Council Canada that cautioned that “devices operating in this band could render the band unusable for astronomy.” However, Microsoft Corp. wrote that “ISED should enable white space devices to operate on channel 37, subject to reasonable rules to protect incumbent radio astronomy and licence-exempt wireless medical telemetry systems (WMTS) deployed in healthcare facilities.” “Doing so will provide access to an additional important, stable channel for white space device operations in the spectrum-constrained environments where many Canadians live,” Microsoft said. — With reporting by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca and editing by Ahmad Hathout at ahathout@thewirereport.ca

Don’t allow white space devices above 608 MHz, ISED hears

News | February 22, 2018

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Don’t allow white space devices above 608 MHz, ISED hears

News | February 22, 2018

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