back to article America to ITU: Sort out your spectrum policy

America is threatening to “go it alone” on spectrum policy, again. Speaking to think-tank New America, Federal Communications Commissioner Michael O'Reilly took a swipe at last year's World Radiocommunication Conference and said America “and other countries … will move forward in key spectrum areas, such as 600 MHz and 28 GHz …

  1. Mage Silver badge
    Devil

    600MHz

    The 600MHz is regulator greed to sell licences. It's a band that makes no sense for unicast data. The range is too great and indeterminate for cell based concept of frequency reuse.

    Even the 700MHz and 800MHz actually provides no extra broadband but just lets Mobile companies build less bases (with less capacity) than for 900MHz and 1800MHz.

    Data / Unicast / voice of any kind, internet or not needs to be 900MHz to 2.6GHz parts of spectrum. Parts are already poorly uses due to regulators doing weak capacity and coverage demands in licences to raise auction prices.

  2. John 98

    Negotiate - what's that?

    Sounds like the US may end up out of step with the rest of the planet, and live to regret it. Maybe someone with greater knowledge can enlighten us? Is there any consensus elsewhere on how to use this spectrum - seems 5.9 and 600 are already spoken for?

  3. 96percentchimp

    For FCC, read GSMA

    Only the USA, Japan and a few client states wanted 600 MHz for mobile thanks to concerted mobile industry lobbying - everyone else threw the question down the road to the 2023 conference because they want to keep the spectrum for terribly-old-fashioned but still-very-popular broadcast TV.

    The USA's response? Toys out of pram.

  4. JaitcH
    FAIL

    America is threatening to “go it alone” on spectrum policy - What's New?

    The USA is always “go it alone”, be it the Geneva Convention, torture, country invasions, etc.

    There only two countries that will be affected are Canada and Mexico as well as all the pockets of people who have to buy non-standard equipment.

    Fortunately, transmissions at 5 GHz and 28 GHz don't go too far, and forcing US automobile manufacturers go off standard will affect their exports to countries who follow the ITU plans.

    1. SImon Hobson Bronze badge

      Re: America is threatening to “go it alone” on spectrum policy - What's New?

      > Fortunately, transmissions at 5 GHz and 28 GHz don't go too far, and forcing US automobile manufacturers go off standard will affect their exports to countries who follow the ITU plans.

      Indeed, if they depart from ITU agreed allocations then we're back to the "different kit for US which is illegal in rest of world". Since compared to "rest of world", USA is a minority, that means they'll pay more for their sub-standard kit.

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