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Our Wireless (Microphone) Spectrum under Attack!


studiomprd

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As suggested by Jim, here is a single thread suitable for updating information and discussing current issues and activities that affect the radio spectrum we use in our work, particularly for our wireless systems.

 

As Jim suggested I "moderate" this thread, please feel free to post information here, and I'll advise if there are any concerns... OK ??

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As suggested by Jim, here is a single thread suitable for updating information and discussing current issues and activities that affect the radio spectrum we use in our work, particularly for our wireless systems.

 

As Jim suggested I "moderate" this thread, please feel free to post information here, and if I'll advise if there are any concerns... OK ??

 

 Please provide an email address and phone number so posters can submit their posts on this topic. Please be willing to turn all posts around in a reasonable (within one hour?) time frame. Put up or shut up.

Best regards,

Jim

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JG: " posters can submit their posts on this topic. "

 

of course JWSOUNDGROUP.net members can, and may submit their posts directly to this topic, 24/7/365, just as you did...

members can also search for this thread, or use the tags.  all the pertinent discussions could be readily available in one thread, including all the new articles and/or news releases. (with multiple threads, following the content was somewhat disjointed, and so folks might more easily miss a part of the big, ongoing picture posted in a different (though closely related) thread somewhere else...

or, folks can just keep posting new threads every time something catches their fancy, without looking to see what else has already been posted.

 

now, Jim, what have you got to contribute regarding the topic? put up, or ...

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?

 

JG: " posters can submit their posts on this topic. "

 

of course JWSOUNDGROUP.net members can, and may submit their posts directly to this topic, 24/7/365, just as you did...

members can also search for this thread, or use the tags.  all the pertinent discussions could be readily available in one thread, including all the new articles and/or news releases. (with multiple threads, following the content was somewhat disjointed, and so folks might more easily miss a part of the big, ongoing picture posted in a different (though closely related) thread somewhere else...

or, folks can just keep posting new threads every time something catches their fancy, without looking to see what else has already been posted.

 

now, Jim, what have you got to contribute regarding the topic? put up, or ...

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So, let me get this straight...

SM decreed that there are too many separate threads about the spectrum auction, so his solution is...

...wait for it...

...to start yet another thread about the spectrum auction.

You can't make this stuff up!

I too find this solution funny :) now I'm going to go back to one of the other topics that actually have something to do with the topic at hand.

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Serves me right for not spending enough time here.

 

First. We will probably lose 600 MHz. Not without a fight, though. To view the official debates:

 

http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/comment_search/execute?proceeding=08-167

 

click on the 08-167 for the list. Kudos to Shure for footing the bill on legal..

 

For the future, we need to band together as the professional film and television professionals who make their living using wireless mics.

 

If you have a license, or have applied, please submit an email with your name, call letters (or the words 'application pending', your location, and union affiliation, if affiliated, to:

 

part74pro@yahoo.com      

 

tell your friends.

 

Jay Patterson, CAS

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FCC Spectrum Auction Update - May 12, 2014:
 
****************************************************
WHEELER PROPOSES UNIFORM
DUPLEX GAP IN 600 MHz BAND PLAN
 
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has circulated a new draft of the incentive auction order to be considered at the May 15 meeting, agency sources said today.
 
The new draft proposes a uniform 11 megahertz duplex gap, according to sources. Previously, FCC staffers had recommended a duplex gap between 6 and 11 MHz depending on how much TV broadcast spectrum was recovered, with guard band spectrum also in that range.  The new draft order was circulated May 9.
 
The details of how the duplex gap could be divided would be decided in the future. The FCC plans follow-on proceedings soon to both consider technical rule changes for unlicensed devices and to consider spectrum and other issues related to wireless microphones.
 
A contemplated proposal is to reserve 6 MHz of the duplex gap for unlicensed devices and 4 MHz for wireless microphones.  The FCC has said that staff proposed allowing licensed use of wireless mics by broadcasters for news-gathering purposes in the duplex gap.
 
Broadcasters and other wireless mic interests and unlicensed spectrum advocates have been battling over spectrum in the 600 MHz band, as FCC staff has proposed auctioning the two channels reserved for wireless mic use in the 600 MHz band.  Wireless mic advocates have urged the FCC to reserve the duplex gap for wireless mics, a proposal opposed by unlicensed spectrum interests. 
 
“The item appears to be a step in the right direction,” Dennis Wharton, executive vice president-communications for the National Association of Broadcasters, said  of the new duplex gap proposal.  “We are pleased the Chairman and his staff recognize the need for wireless mics to have some small slice of exclusive spectrum for newsgathering. The only issue is that the proposal won’t work from a technical standpoint, because as Qualcomm has demonstrated, the unlicensed allocation for Google and Microsoft will cause harmful interference to LTE operations. The ultimate compromise solution is to keep the FCC’s unlicensed expansion in channel 37 and the new guard band and then reserve the 11 MHz duplex gap for mics.”
 
“The upshot is that the FCC is trying to accommodate both unlicensed use and wireless microphones, and is relying on the parties to figure out how to share the spectrum between now and the auction,” said Harold Feld, senior vice president of Public Knowledge, which has advocated for more unlicensed spectrum.  “Given that wireless mics and unlicensed have gotten along like cats and dogs, this creates something of a challenge. But the FCC is making it clear to all parties that when they say ‘sharing is the future’ they mean it. 
 
“The last few weeks have been marked by a lot of hard work and tough trade offs on all sides.  Chairman Wheeler deserves a lot of credit for forcing everyone to keep going back to the drawing board to come up with workable proposals that take into account the sometimes conflicting goals of the auction to come up with a way to keep the TV white spaces usable in urban areas when no one can predict how much spectrum will ultimately be reclaimed,” Mr. Feld added.  
 “Commissioner Rosenworcel deserves a lot of credit as well, for continuing to push for viable TV white spaces when things seemed bleakest some months back.
 
“All that said, we still have a lot of work ahead going forward. The FCC has pushed most of the technical details on how all this will work, while still protecting both broadcasting and the licensed mobile broadband providers from interference, for another round of rulemakings over the summer,” Mr. Feld said.  “This could all end up being for nothing if we can't get a good set of rules that works for everyone. But the FCC has really worked extremely hard to find a way forward that returns plenty of spectrum for auction, protects broadcasters who don't want to participate in the auction, and keeps both TVWS [TV white spaces] and wireless mics working. It makes me hopeful we can continue to thread the needle on this as we work the details over the summer.”
 
“The unlicensed community has been adamant that Congress intended a balanced policy that would ensure useable unlicensed spectrum for broadband devices in every market nationwide, including the largest cities. This is critical for the Wi-Fi ecosystem, including the affordability and availability of Wi-Fi chips  and devices for rural broadband,” said Michael Calabrese, director of the New America Foundation’s Open Technology Institute.  “What we have been hearing about the Chairman’s proposed changes would be a clear win-win for both consumers who use unlicensed devices and for broadcast news operations that need very narrow but guaranteed channels for breaking news.”
 
Last week, Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said that the Commission should make sure there are plenty of opportunities for unlicensed spectrum use in the 600 MHz band, but that it doesn’t have to come at the expense of other users (TRDaily, May 6).
 
Also, a May 9 ex parte filing by NAB in GN docket 12-268 responded to a Google-Microsoft filing that had fired back at an earlier NAB submission that suggested the companies want access to “free spectrum.”
 
“NAB continues to support the Commission’s drive to find opportunities to develop spectrum that does not require a license. We also understand its importance to successful companies such as Google and Microsoft, as it lowers costs for them when they develop consumer products and services,” the group said. “However, if Google and Microsoft believe they need more access to spectrum as part of their business models, NAB is aware of no financial or legal limitations that would prevent these companies from bidding in the incentive auction, raising revenues and increasing the likelihood of a successful auction.”
 
Meanwhile, 10 House Democrats have written the FCC to support an incentive auction proposal to reserve up to 30 MHz in each market for bidding by companies with less than one-third of sub-1 gigahertz spectrum in that market.
 
“As the Federal Communications Commission moves to finalize rules for the first-of-its-kind incentive auction of broadcast television spectrum, it has indicated its intention to propose rules to ensure every carrier has the opportunity to bid and win this beachfront spectrum and consumers, including those living in rural areas lacking sufficient mobile broadband coverage, enjoy the benefits of competition,” the lawmakers said in their May 9 letter to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler.  “These goals are one key part of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, which granted the FCC authority to conduct an incentive auction.  We commend you for your work in support of the Act and its goals.”
 
“The FCC has crafted a transparent auction structure that accurately recognizes the unique value of low-band spectrum,” the lawmakers added.  “We are heartened to hear that the FCC intends to ensure sufficient auction revenue to accomplish public interest objectives identified in the Act, including the full funding of the First Responder Network Authority, or FirstNet, as well as sufficiently broad-based and robust competition to protect consumers’ interests in innovation and expanded wireless broadband service in urban and rural areas alike.  In particular, we believe that a proposal to reserve a portion of the available licenses for carriers with limited nationwide low-frequency holdings will stimulate auction competition and revenues, ensuring opportunity to bid and win spectrum to enhance and extend rural build out and improve coverage in all areas, while guarding against excessive concentration of spectrum resources.”
 
Signing the letter were Reps. Doris Matsui (D., Calif.), Peter Welch (D., Vt.), Henry  Waxman (D., Calif.), Anna Eshoo (D., Calif.), John Conyers Jr. (D., Mich.), Michael Doyle (D., Pa.), Zoe Lofgren (D., Calif.), Ben Ray Lujan (D., N.M.), Jared Polis (D., Colo.), and Adam Smith (D., Wash.).  Six of the lawmakers sit on the House communications and technology subcommittee, including Reps. Eshoo, its ranking member, and Waxman, ranking member of the full Energy and Commerce Committee.
 
Meanwhile, a May 9 ex parte filing in GN docket 12-268 and WT docket 12-269 urged the FCC to auction an uneven number of spectrum blocks in the unreserved group.
 
The filing said that “competition would be enhanced if the Commission reserved more licenses for competitive access by allocating an odd number of unreserved licenses, which would force carriers that already control excessive low-band spectrum to compete with each other and would increase the likelihood of generating more revenue in both the reserved and unreserved blocks. At 70 MHz of broadband clearing, for example, dividing seven available licenses into three unreserved licenses and four reserved licenses would force AT&T and Verizon to compete to determine who gets two licenses and who gets only one—an outcome similar to the dynamic in Canada’s 700 MHz auction, which led to higher revenues. At 60 MHz of broadband clearing, preserving the three unreserved licenses is critical. Decreasing the reserve blocks from three to two at 60 MHz of broadband clearing would not only discourage competitive bidding between the two dominant licensees, but also frustrate the auction’s clearing targets by establishing a perverse incentive for AT&T and Verizon to clear less, rather than more, spectrum for broadband use.”
 
The filing reported on meetings with FCC officials and representatives of the Competitive Carriers Association, Sprint Corp., T-Mobile US, Inc., C Spire Wireless, Inc., Comptel, Dish Network Corp., the Computer & Communications Industry Association, the New America Foundation, Public Knowledge, and the Writers Guild of America, West. 
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 here is some breaking news:

As protests swirled over FCC proposals to establish rules of the road for the Internet, the commission on Thursday approved a plan that also promises to have a huge impact on the media landscape: the auctioning of broadcast airwaves for wireless use. 
The auction, scheduled to place in 2015, is meant to respond to the growth in wireless services, via smartphones and tablets, and free up additional capacity as a way to spur innovation. 
The result, however, is likely to remake the channel lineup, particularly in the UHF band.

FCC chairman Tom Wheeler acknowledged that the plan as exceedingly complex — he compared it to assembling a Rubik’s cube — but said that the auction plan allows the free market “to decide the highest and best use of spectrum.”

A goal has been for 120 MHz of broadcast spectrum to be repurposed,

The auction also is expected to free up additional spectrum for unlicensed use, something that Wheeler says will alleviate congestion with the growth of Wi-Fi. The plan is to make it available via a “guard band” — or the gap between the spectrum allocated for broadcasting and that allocated for wireless use. In addition, the FCC plans to make it available on channel 37.

 

http://variety.com/2014/biz/news/fcc-approves-plan-to-auction-off-broadcast-airwaves-1201181525/

Edited by studiomprd
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Approved by 3-2 vote.
 

Key Points:

 
We won't know exact frequencies until the auction itself. Each market will be different. It starts at 698MHz and goes down from there.
 
Unlicensed devices will still be allowed to use naturally occurring white spaces. This includes wireless mics and TVBDs (white space devices, like http://www.carlsonwireless.com/ruralconnect/).
 
The auction is selling uplink and downlink frequency groups in 5Mhz blocks. The uplink and downlink bands will be separated by an 11MHz duplex gap. This gap will be available for use by wireless mics and other unlicensed devices. 4 MHz of this gap is specifically for wireless mics.
 
The guard bands between stations will be usable. Combined with the duplex gap, they expect 20-34 MHz available for unlicensed device use nation wide. There will additionally be one tv channel (6Mhz) per market reserved for unlicensed use, plus any unoccupied channels.
 
The realignment of the spectrum will finish no later than 39 months after the auction. Wireless mics and TVBDs will be allowed to use this section of the spectrum during the transition. 
 
edit: fixed typo. Thanks, Senator!
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Ryan quoted: " realignment of the spectrum will finish no later than 39 months after the auction... "

and the auction is sometime in 2015...

and when was the last time this kind of stuff happened on schedule ??

 

" uplink and downlink frequency groups in 5hz blocks "

uplink and downlink frequency groups in 5Mhz blocks

 

私の個人的なコンピュータデバイスのいずれかからのインターネットプログラムを使用して送信された、どの物ができますか?

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JG: " At least you post under your own name. "

actually, I post over my own, real name

--just look below--

 

שלח מאחד ממכשירי המחשב האישיים שלי משתמש באינטרנט תוכנית, אתה יכל לומר לאיזה אחדים?

Please adjust your medication, Senator. Or your spectacles. I know how confusing being required to wear them can be.

I said "At least you post under your own name."

As in you use your real name to post here.

 

Subtle difference, I know. Do you really want to be associated with the anonymous posters? 

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here is more:

we (wireless microphone users) are pawns in this game: " “NAB will pursue every avenue to get the auction back on track and ensure that broadcasters and our viewers are protected — as Congress mandated in the Act” authorizing the auctions. "

and the use of wireless microphones by folks like us on jwsoundgroup.net is just a pretty small piece of the wireless microphone sector...  but TV broadcasters will be reimbursed for at least part of their costs as a result of this auction and the resulting repacking of TV broadcasters.

The FCC released only a general description of some the new regulations during the agency’s meeting, leaving even insider lobbyists largely in the dark. 
“The devil’s in the details and the details are part of a 450-page order that may not come out for another week or so,”

http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/76366/nab-blasts-fcc-incentive-auction-rules

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I'm somewhat concerned that according to unnamed sources Tom Wheeler, the former cable television lobbyist. past president of the cable television's trade association and current FCC chairman regards a dedicated set-aside in the 4 GHz. region as a viable option for all wireless microphone needs. This is a huge turnaround since it's an FCC proposal regarding free spectrum the NAB opposes.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/washington/fcc-now-looking-4-mhz-wireless-mics/131123

 

Best regards,

Jim

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I'm somewhat concerned that according to unnamed sources Tom Wheeler, the former cable television lobbyist. past president of the cable television's trade association and current FCC chairman regards a dedicated set-aside in the 4 GHz. region as a viable option for all wireless microphone needs. This is a huge turnaround since it's an FCC proposal regarding free spectrum the NAB opposes.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/washington/fcc-now-looking-4-mhz-wireless-mics/131123

Best regards,

Jim

While it may not be an ideal solution, it is at least an indication the fcc is trying to come up with a solution, and recognizing at least some (seemingly not nearly enough) need for dedicated spectrum for wireless mics.

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