The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has proposed increasing the spectrum available for mobile broadband operations by removing certain restrictions on the use of 40 MHz currently allocated for mobile satellite services (MSSs).
MSS is a radiocommunication service involving transmission between mobile earth stations and one or more space stations, and is intended to provide communications in areas where coverage via terrestrial base stations is difficult or impossible. The Commission initially allocated 70 MHz of spectrum for MSS use in 1997, but reduced the allocation to 40 MHz in 2003 due to lack of progress in the deployment of MSS services.
In a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking issued in March 2012, the Commission proposed to carry out a recommendation in its National Broadband Plan to enable the provision of stand-alone terrestrial services in this spectrum. This step would provide for more flexibility in the provision of MSS services, and support the expansion of broadband deployment in the 2 GHz band. The Commission’s Notice also seeks public comments on other methods for freeing up additional spectrum.
Read the complete text of the Commission’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding increasing the spectrum available for mobile broadband operations by removing certain restrictions on the use of 40 MHz currently allocated for mobile satellite services (MSSs).
