The Federal Communications Commission today formally adopted a Report and Order that sets flexible-use regulatory, licensing, and technical rules for a 65MHz swatch of spectrum. The spectrum rests in the AWS-3 band, which includes 1695-1710MHz, 1755-1780MHz, and 2155-2180MHz. According to the FCC, the Report and Order divvies the spectrum up into "a mix of spectrum block and geographic license area sizes to meet the needs of large and small wireless providers." The FCC is requiring that all AWS-3 devices be interoperable in the defined AWS-3 spectrum bands, and that AWS-3 devices also be interoperable with AWS-1 spectrum. Some of the 65MHz set aside for mobile broadband will be shared initially with incumbent federal agencies that already use the spectrum while they transition to other frequencies. The FCC has not yet decided on a timeline for auctioning off the AWS-3 spectrum.


More...