WRC-2000 and the 3G Spectrum Grab
By Paul J. Sinderbrand and Stephen D. Hayes

Fixed wireless licensees tend to take a parochial view of the regulatory environment in which they operate. They generally focus on the rules and policies being developed by their national regulators (the FCC in the U.S.) and largely ignoring the activities of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). That approach has been understandable, since the ITU historically has had little impact upon fixed terrestrial usages. However, the world is changing. Fixed wireless licensees now must pay attention to the work of the ITU lest they find their spectrum in jeopardy.

The ITU was originally formed in the late 1800's to address infrastructure and encoding incompatibilities which proliferated after the advent of the telegraph. Today, the ITU is a specialized agency of the United Nations charged with the international coordination of all forms of communication ó whether by wire, radio, fiber or other means. The ITUís Radiocommunication Sector and its Radio Regulations are the basic vehicles for the regulation of international wireless telecommunications, particularly spectrum allocation and usage.

The risk of ignoring the ITU is perhaps best illustrated by the threat being faced by MDS systems at 2.1 and 2.5 GHz in the United States, Canada and around the world. Commencing on May 8, 2000 in Istanbul, Turkey, the ITU will convene a World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-2000). WRCs are the means by which the ITU periodically revises the governing Radio Regulations. Such revisions have the force of a treaty obligation once agreed by ITU member nations. WRC-2000 will consider action which could ultimately result in the demise of fixed wireless service in those bands.

Specifically, WRC-2000 will consider proposals to set aside certain radio frequencies exclusively for so-called third generation, or 3G, mobile systems. For over a decade, the ITU has been working toward the deployment of a third generation of mobile telephones using a common radio technology and operating in a common set of frequencies throughout the world. (Analog cellular systems are considered to be ìfirst generationî systems. Digital cellular, PCS and ESMR systems are termed ìsecond generationî systems.)

The ITU concept, known now as International Mobile Telephony-2000 ó or ìIMT-2000î ó has evolved as a family of interoperable radio technologies. These technologies are compatible with one another as well as with existing second generation technologies. Pressure from the various competing proponents of second generation technologies forced the single standard concept to give way to this ìfamily of standardsî approach. There remains, however, considerable support among mobile service interests for the proposition that a single set of frequencies for the systems should be used worldwide. The reason is simple ó one global 3G band reduces handset manufacturing costs.

Among the spectrum under consideration for exclusive 3G use are the 2150-2162 MHz and 2500-2690 MHz bands. These bands are licensed extensively throughout the United States and other nations for one and two way point-to-multipoint operation. Ironically, this threat comes at a time when these bands have been identified in the United States and Canada, as well as elsewhere, as a primary resource for providing broadband wireless services, particularly into the residential and small business markets that cannot be served economically at higher frequencies.

Ubiquitous mobile systems are effectively unable to share spectrum with current MDS systems. The allocation of the 2.1 and 2.5 GHz MDS bands for exclusive 3G use would force the relocation of incumbent services to other bands. The report generated by the 1999 Conference Preparatory Meeting (CPM) to WRC-2000 provides the technical basis for the work of the conference. This report affirmed that 3G systems generally cannot share spectrum in the same geographical area with other radio services. It also recognized that the frequency bands most suitable for 3G are already heavily utilized by other operations in many geographic areas, and that incumbent services in these areas would need to be relocated to make way for 3G systems.

The problem is that there are no alternative bands in the 2 GHz range to which MDS systems could be effectively relocated without creating other dislocations. Nor can these services be migrated to higher bands. The shorter path lengths available above 3 GHz would require so many more cells that MDS systems could not economically serve the residential and small office/home office markets.

At the WRC held in 1992, ITU member nations approved the identification of 230 megahertz of spectrum in which individual nations could license IMT-2000 systems. Among the spectrum identified was the 2150-2162 MHz band licensed for MDS and ITFS in the United States. However, at the time the FCC assured that the ITU identification did not require the licensing by member nations of any particular band for IMT-2000, including specifically 2150-2162 MHz. Indeed, in its 1992 Report and Order identifying spectrum for what were then referred to as ìemerging technologies,î the FCC specifically refused to take the 2150-2160 MHz band away from MDS in favor of new uses.

Since 1992, the market for first and second generation systems around the world has exploded and the interest in the development of terrestrial- and satellite-based IMT-2000 has proliferated. As a result, the ITU has begun to consider the need for IMT-2000 spectrum in addition to the 230 megahertz already identified. IMT-2000 proponents have estimated that an additional 160 megahertz will be required for terrestrial IMT-2000 systems by 2010. A need for an additional 74 megahertz is forecast for satellite IMT 2000 systems by the same date. IMT-2000 proponents are pushing for the earliest possible identification of additional spectrum.

Although the U.S. has yet to adopt a position on the reallocation of 2.1 and 2.5 GHz, the mobile industry has succeeded in its lobbying efforts elsewhere. Europeans governments have developed a draft proposal for WRC-2000 that would set aside globally the entire MDS and ITFS bands at 2150-2162 MHz and 2500-2690 MHz, among others, for IMT-2000, and would bar other uses. The Europeans are bolstered by their success with mandating GSM technology and spectrum. They have long viewed the original IMT-2000 identification as more of a directive to member nations rather than an option. The European Union has already mandated, in its Decision No. 128/1999/EC, that member nations must license IMT-2000 systems in the spectrum identified in 1992, including 2150-2162 MHz, not later than 2002. Finland was the first to license IMT-2000 systems in the band last March. The United Kingdom and Germany are expected to license systems in the band early this year.

Countries outside Europe also are pushing ahead with the possible deployment of IMT-2000 systems in MDS and ITFS bands. Australia, for example, has notified its existing multipoint and other licensees in the 2110-2200 MHz band that their licenses will not be renewed so that the spectrum can be made available for 3G deployments.

The United States has, so far, resisted the notion that the identification of spectrum for IMT-2000 places a mandate on any member nation to use the frequencies for that purpose alone, to the exclusion of any other service to which the spectrum is allocated internationally. Considerable risk arises, however, if: (1) the ITU adopts, without U.S. objection, a broader, mandatory IMT-2000 spectrum identification, or (2) despite the adoption of a broader, but still optional, international identification, the FCC eventually accedes to pressure from foreign governments or domestic IMT-2000 proponents to relocate incumbent MDS and ITFS licensees to other spectrum and to reauction the 2.1 GHz and 2.5 GHz bands.

The U.S. WRC-2000 preparatory effort has taken place under the auspices of the FCC, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration of the Department of Commerce and the U.S. Department of State. Interested members of the U.S. telecommunications industry have been able to participate in policy development meetings and to make their views on the IMT-2000 spectrum issue known. To date, the U.S. government has not finalized its position on the issue, although WRC-2000 is fast approaching.

To the degree permitted by its limited financial resources, the Wireless Communications Association International (WCA) has been participating actively on behalf of its member companies in the year-long process of developing the U.S. position on IMT-2000 spectrum allocations for WRC-2000. WCA continues to be making significant progress in promoting a U.S. international position which does not jeopardize MDS and ITFS incumbents. WCA is opposed, however, by far larger mobile interests and by the Department of Defense, which is attempting to steer 3G away from spectrum it utilizes. Fortunately, Sprint and MCI Worldcom have begun to actively participate in the U.S. preparatory process, bolstering WCAís efforts.

It is incumbent upon the MDS and ITFS community to actively participate in the WRC preparatory process and in the on-going ITU study group process which provides the technical bases for ITU action. While it is critical to the ultimate success of the effort underway to prevent the relocation of MDS and ITFS licensees that the entire industry be mobilized, it is equally important that the efforts of the industry be centrally coordinated. Numerous voices will likely be drowned out by one another, and by the coordinated IMT-2000 spectrum advocates. To this end, MDS and ITFS licensees should be prepared to support the continuing efforts of the WCA in protecting their valuable investment in spectrum and equipment.

About the authors

Paul J. Sinderbrand is a partner in the Washington, D.C. law firm Wilkenson Barker Knauer, L.L.P. He may be reached at 202-783-4141. Stephen D. Hayes, also a partner with Wilkenson Barker Knauer, may be reached at 202-383-3414.