Taking Ownership of the
Regulatory Process
(or How to Make the Gumbo)
Stephen E. Coran
Rini Coran, PC
(202) 463-4310
scoran@rinicoran.com
FISPA Year End Meeting
New Orleans, Louisiana
October 7, 2010
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Recipe for Success
 Leadership
 “Life does not consist in thinking, it consists in acting.” – Woodrow
Wilson
 “Our task now is not to fix the blame for the past, but to fix the course for
the future.” – John F. Kennedy
 Initiative
 “I never sit on the fence. I am either on one side or another.” – Harry S
Truman
 “Don’t expect to build up the weak by pulling down the strong.” – Calvin
Coolidge
 Participation
 “Politics should be the part-time profession of every citizen.” – Dwight D.
Eisenhower
 Reasonableness
 “The hole and the patch should be commensurate.” – Thomas Jefferson
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Ingredients
 The Legislative Process
 Where the gumbo is made
 The Regulatory Process
 Where the gumbo is packaged
 TV White Spaces
 Spicy enough?
 Spectrum for Backhaul
 The next batch
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The Legislative Process
 Know your Sausage-makers
 Federal – Senate and House representatives
 State – Elected representatives
 Local – Zoning officials
 Help make the Sausage
 Understand the threat and the opportunity
 Develop a plan
 Communicate what you do and how it benefits constituents
 Find allies to help develop, implement and communicate the
plan
 Determine best tactics
 Know when to compromise, and when not to
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The Legislative Process
 Sell the Sausage (or sell a better grade)
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Newspaper articles, letters to the editor
Press releases
Grass roots support
Support from allies
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The Regulatory Process
 Take the sausage, make the gumbo
 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking leads to new
rules
 Begins with petition for rulemaking or on FCC’s
initiative
 Comments and Reply Comments
 Oral and written ex parte presentations
 Notice of Inquiry does not lead directly to new
rules, but data collection efforts can be
important
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Cas(ing) Study
 FCC established ability to regulate broadband Internet
services based on Title I “ancillary authority” of
Communications Act
 Early this year, FCC began proceeding to codify six
“network neutrality” principles
 Non-discrimination
 Transparency
 Ensure consumers’ ability to receive all lawful content and run all
lawful applications, subject to reasonable network management
practices
 National Broadband Plan recommendation to extend
universal service support to broadband
 Net neutrality part of President Obama’s policy plan
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Cas(ing) Study
 In Comcast case, FCC sought to prevent
Comcast from secretly degrading its
customers’ lawful Internet traffic
 On April 6, 2010, the D.C. Circuit ruled that
FCC had not adequately demonstrated that it
had “ancillary authority” under Title I to
regulate Internet network management
 FCC can only assert authority if Congress
grants it
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Cas(ing) Study
 On June 17, 2010, the FCC adopted a Notice of Inquiry on “The
Third Way” to reclassify FCC’s broadband authority to enable
regulation
 FCC seeks comment on the following approaches:
 The “first way” – should wired service offerings continue to be classified
as Title I “information services”?
 The “second way” – should Internet connectivity be classified as a
“telecommunications service” under Title II?
 “The Third Way:” Should the FCC reaffirm that Internet information
services should remain generally unregulated?
 Should the FCC classify only Internet connectivity service offered as part of
a wired broadband Internet service as a telecommunications service?
 Should the FCC forbear from applying all of the provisions of Title II other
than the small number needed to implement fundamental universal service,
competition and small business opportunity, and consumer protection
policies that have broad support?
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Cas(ing) Study
 Comment/Reply Comment cycle ended August 17
 Chairman Genachowski has encouraged industry to
get together on rules (e.g., Google-Verizon pact)
 On September 1, FCC released a Public Notice
seeking comment on two “under-developed” issues:
 Managed services
 Mobile wireless platforms
 Comments due October 12 and Reply Comments
due November 4
 By pushing decision past election date, was Chairman
Genachowski signaling that he wants Congress to intervene?
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Cas(ing) Study
 Meanwhile, House Democrats circulated draft
legislation to give FCC authority to regulate the
first four net neutrality principles
 Legislation failed when Republicans did not support
the bill
 “But will the Commission, having spent the entire
summer avoiding action on net neutrality, now
go ahead and do what its been saying it will do?
Or will it punt on the entire issue?” – Rob
Pegoraro, The Washington Post, October 3
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TV White Spaces
 Rules adopted November 4, 2008 to
govern fixed and personal/portable use of
vacant TV spectrum on an unlicensed
basis
 WISPA actively sought higher-power,
“licensed-lite” process with registration and
geolocation
 FCC also indicated it would initiate inquiry for
higher-power services
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TV White Spaces
 Fixed Devices
 Permitted on TV channels 2-51, except Channels 3, 4
and 37
 Must incorporate geolocation capability that accesses
privately maintained database of protected services
(e.g., incumbent broadcast stations)
 Power maximum of 4 Watts EIRP
 Must use outdoor antennas with spectrum sensing
capability to identify wireless microphone signals not
in database
 Operation not permitted where digital TV stations
operate on co-channel or adjacent-channel basis
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TV White Spaces
 Geolocation Database and Sensing
 All devices that do not operate in client mode must access
database of registered stations before operating
 Database to be managed by qualified database administrator(s)
selected by FCC, although FCC will retain interference resolution
functions
 Database registrants will include: full-power TV, Class A TV, lowpower TV, TV translator/booster, PLMRS/CMRS operating on
Channels 14-20, broadcast auxiliary and Offshore
Radiotelephone Service stations
 Database will be accurate to within 50 meters
 Devices also must be equipped with technology capable of
sensing intermittent wireless microphones at a -114 dBm
minimum detection threshold
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TV White Spaces
 17 parties, including WISPA, filed Petitions
for Reconsideration
 WISPA, Motorola and Silicon Valley
companies asked for spectrum sensing
requirements to be eliminated entirely
 Cost to employ sensing would spell disaster for
WISP deployment in white spaces
 Unnecessary to protect incumbent TV and other
services
 Less restrictive means to protect authorized
wireless microphones
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TV White Spaces
 WISPA Petition for Reconsideration
 Asked for decrease in minimum receive antenna
height and increase in maximum base station height,
while maintaining existing protection to TV stations
and headends
 Will decrease cost of rooftop installations
 Will decrease number of needed base stations and sites
 Asked for increase in power to 20 watts transmitter
power
 Will increase coverage area to facilitate more cost-effective
deployment for point-to-point and point-to-multipoint
 Asked for “licensed-lite” database search
requirements for fixed deployments
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TV White Spaces
 After heavy last-minute advocacy, on September
23, FCC adopted Order that:
 eliminated simultaneous sensing requirement
 eliminated 10-meter AGL CPE restriction
 reserved two channels near Channel 37 for
unlicensed wireless microphones, with additional
spectrum available under specific circumstances
upon application to the FCC
 further restricted maximum base station height to
better protect broadcast stations
 Retained 30-meter maximum for base stations above ground
level (AGL)
 Added restriction that tower site must not exceed 76 meters
above average terrain (HAAT)
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TV White Spaces
 FCC did not increase power, but indicated it may
consider this issue in a future proceeding
 FCC did not adopt FiberTower, et al., proposal to
license up to 36 megahertz for backhaul
 FCC staff required to provide report by end of year
 FCC deferred decision on database administrators,
though decision expected fairly soon
 Questions:
 What will equipment cost and when will it be available?
 Will devices be standards-based?
 Will devices be dynamic enough to find other frequencies if
channels are foreclosed by future licensing or “re-packing” of
spectrum to accommodate mobile wireless?
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Spectrum for Backhaul
 On August 5, 2010, the FCC released a
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and
Notice of Inquiry proposing to make 750
megahertz available for backhaul and
other technical changes
 Comments due October 25 and Reply
Comments due November 22
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Spectrum for Backhaul
 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Proposals:
 Allow Fixed Service operations to share spectrum
with BAS and CARS
 6875-7125 MHz = 250 megahertz
 12700-13200 MHz = 500 megahertz
 Variety of channel bandwidths to promote flexibility
 Minimum payload requirements, with adaptive
modulation to address anomalous signal fading
 Use of spectrum for auxiliary stations
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Spectrum for Backhaul
 Notice of Inquiry:
 Should FCC reduce relax efficiency standards
for “rural” areas?
 Should FCC change its antenna standards?
 Smaller size?
 Effect on interference?
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Final Thoughts
 “Washington is a city of southern efficiency
and northern charm.” – John F. Kennedy
 “Associate yourself with men of good quality if
you esteem your own reputation; for ‘tis better
to be alone than in bad company.” – George
Washington
 “Get action, do things; be sane, don’t fritter
away your time; create, act, take place
wherever you are and be somebody; get
action.” – Theodore Roosevelt
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“Be sincere; be brief; be seated.”
– Franklin D. Roosevelt
Questions?
Stephen E. Coran
Rini Coran, PC
(202) 463-4310
scoran@rinicoran.com
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