FCC Staffers Talk Video Market, 5.9 GHz, Set-tops at INTX 2016
BOSTON -- Any number of next steps, from a report or rulemaking to "some other option," are possible after the FCC's independent and diverse programming notice of inquiry and related workshops, said David Grossman, Commissioner Mignon Clyburn's chief of staff, on an INTX 2016 panel Tuesday. Jessica Almond, aide to Chairman Tom Wheeler, said Wheeler similarly is interested in some next step in the programming NOI, but gave no details on what. Wheeler is scheduled to talk Wednesday.
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The FCC staffer panel talk touched on numerous proceedings before the agency, from the set-top box NPRM and broadband privacy order to the pending public notice to refresh the record in the 5.9 GHz proceeding. Almond said one major Wheeler priority is sharing of licensed and unlicensed spectrum and he's particularly focused on sharing in the 5.9 GHz band. That PN will set out a test plan and seek comment and solicit prototype devices for testing, with the duration of the proceeding depending on the quality of comments and the timeliness of getting prototype devices, she said.
Under the right parameters, there can be sharing in the band that doesn't undermine auto technology, said Robin Colwell, chief of staff to Commissioner Michael O'Rielly. That spectrum initially was intended for automotive safety of life applications, and O'Rielly wants definitions of what that means as a next step to ensure the applications are directed at safety instead of secondary uses such as navigation or social media. She said those could be done in other unlicensed spectrum.
Marc Paul, aide to Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, said with the unlicensed spectrum allocation getting increasingly crowded, Rosenworcel is looking for opportunities to alleviate unlicensed crowding and a "near-term option" is the 5.9 GHz band. That slice of bandwidth is particularly attractive because of its proximity to already unlicensed spectrum, which could create sideband channels for wide-capacity Wi-Fi use -- "the holy grail of gigabit Wi-Fi." Paul said Rosenworcel would like to see testing begin this year and hopes to work with other agencies such as the Commerce and Transportation departments to ensure the testing protects auto safety applications.
The staffers also spent much of the panel debating a major contention of the cable industry in the set-top proceeding -- that the increasing use of apps obviates any need for the NPRM. Almond said apps might meet some aspects of the NPRM's goal, but apps that remain fully within the control of a particular business might not meet the statutory goals of creating competition in the navigation device market.
The apps approach "is where the market is going all by itself without any help from the FCC," Colwell said. She also said nowhere does the statute require cross-platform searching, likening it to a requirement that one be able to search one's iTunes library via Spotify. "The music industry would have a big problem with that," she said. In a competing analogy, Grossman said arguments against the set-top NPRM are akin to the arguments that were made against opening up the rotary telephone marketplace or unlocking cellphones to let them be used across carriers.
On the issue of broadband privacy, Almond said Wheeler's office sees it as complementary to the privacy work of the FTC. "To say it sets up a disparate framework, that framework exists today and is confusing to consumers," she said.