Microwave Sharing on FCC's Aug. 9 Meeting Agenda

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The Tentative Agenda for the August 9th Open Commission Meetingincludes an item titled "Unleashing Spectrum for Wireless Backhaul to Promote Broadband Deployment Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking." One of the items in this proceeding calls for allowing sharing of the 7 and 13 GHz broadcast auxiliary service (BAS) bands for wireless backhaul. As previously reported, the Society of Broadcast Engineers and Engineers for the Integrity of Broadcast Auxiliary Services Spectrum (EIBASS) have expressed concerns over the impact such sharing could have on both portable operations in these bands as well as new or modified studio-transmitter or intercity-relay links.

Since the Agenda includes both a Report and Order, which would set new rules, and a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, which would only propose new rules, it's possible the FCC will adopt some of the less controversial proposals while attempting to reach a compromise on more challenging issues such as sharing in the BAS bands.

Doug Lung
Doug Lung
Contributor

Doug Lung is one of America's foremost authorities on broadcast RF technology. As vice president of Broadcast Technology for NBCUniversal Local, H. Douglas Lung leads NBC and Telemundo-owned stations’ RF and transmission affairs, including microwave, radars, satellite uplinks, and FCC technical filings. Beginning his career in 1976 at KSCI in Los Angeles, Lung has nearly 50 years of experience in broadcast television engineering. Beginning in 1985, he led the engineering department for what was to become the Telemundo network and station group, assisting in the design, construction and installation of the company’s broadcast and cable facilities. Other projects include work on the launch of Hawaii’s first UHF TV station, the rollout and testing of the ATSC mobile-handheld standard, and software development related to the incentive auction TV spectrum repack. A longtime columnist for TV Technology, Doug is also a regular contributor to IEEE Broadcast Technology. He is the recipient of the 2023 NAB Television Engineering Award. He also received a Tech Leadership Award from TV Tech publisher Future plc in 2021 and is a member of the IEEE Broadcast Technology Society and the Society of Broadcast Engineers.