In comments filed with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) late last week, UTC urged the FCC and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to provide access to federal spectrum for utilities and other critical infrastructure industries (CII). The comments were filed in response to a Public Notice from the FCC inviting comment on technical issues associated with the spectrum bands identified in a NTIA Report that was released in October 2010. This report identifies 115 MHz of federal spectrum that could be freed up for broadband purposes.

In its comments, UTC reiterated its position that utilities and other CII need access to spectrum to meet increasing demands and in response to continuing interference, congestion and reallocation of existing bands. UTC urged the FCC to support utility and CII access to the 1800-1830 MHz band, which is part of one of the bands (i.e. the 1755-1850 MHz band) that NTIA has identified in its Report for commercial broadband services. UTC explained that sharing the 1800-1830 MHz band with utilities and CII would make sense for several reasons, such as providing a harmonized allocation with Canada and the ability for utilities and Federal government radio users can compatibly share the spectrum. Another point addressed was that the FCC/NTIA should segment the 1755-1850 MHz band so that the 1800-1830 MHz band could be shared with utilities and CII. UTC urged the FCC/NTIA to find other suitable spectrum for utilities and CII in addition or as an alternative to the 1800-1830 MHz band. Comments filed by commercial broadband parties focused on the 1755-1780 MHz band, which could be paired with the AWS-3 spectrum (2155-2180 MHz) to provide 4G services. None of the other comments addressed in detail the need for access to the spectrum above 1780 MHz (i.e. up to 1850 MHz). As such, the 1800-1830 MHz band doesn’t appear to be a near-term objective among commercial broadband providers. For more information, contact the UTC Legal/Regulatory Department.