New Date for MVDDS Auction

[Steve Mehs]

It's another date change for auctions that will sell licenses for the controversial terrestrial wireless offering that aims to share DBS frequencies.

Late last week, the Federal Communications Commission said an auction for licenses in the developing Multichannel Video Distribution and Data Service (MVDDS) is scheduled to begin June 25. The MVDDS auction was originally scheduled to begin Feb. 12, then was delayed until Aug. 6.

In addition to the rescheduled June date, an FCC notice also asks for comment on the auction structure and procedure.

Satellite interests - including the Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association, EchoStar and DirecTV - have been fighting the MVDDS proposal, worried that the spectrum-sharing wireless technology will interfere with satellite TV signals. SBCA has asked the FCC to reconsider the spectrum-sharing rules, and is pursuing a review of the FCC’s MVDDS decision in D.C. federal court.

From SkyReport (http://www.skyreport.com/skyreport/feb2003/020303.shtm#three) (Used with Permission)

[waydwolf]

    IMHO, it is inevitable that this happen and with any hope will force DirecTV and Dish Network to move to more advanced signal reception systems such as true phased arrays with advanced signal discrimination.

    It should also bring a weeding out of idiots from the ranks of installers by forcing installers to become better aquainted with RF technology and do better pre-install site surveys including checking for and using structures and trees to screen out TI(Terrestrial Interference) the way C-band dish installers used to.

    I say bring it on. People who know what they are doing will still get the job done.

 

[raj2001]

I feel your pain. As a ham radio operator, we're always fighting for frequency spectrum that's always in danger of being taken away from us. If it's not going to be taken away from us, it's "shared" with Part 15 devices that simply don't obey Part 15 of the FCC rules at all. A classic example is the 2.4GHz band being cluttered with Wi-Fi(802.11b) or filled with cordless phones.

With regards to satellite TV this is not new. C-Band users had to deal with phone companies and their terrestrial microwave links that often shared the same frequencies for years before most of them abandoned them in favor of fiber.

With DBS, the bright side is that at 12 GHz, the radio waves are more or less like light and travel mainly in line of sight (and do not bend corners). The same properties of 12GHz DBS signal that produces Rain fade, tree fade, gecko fade, frog fade, whatever :) may work in your favor, blocking out whatever stray signals that will interfere with your DBS reception. What's even more in your favor is that your dish is aimed straight at the satellite, whereas any terrestrial services may not be aimed at your dish, or be omnidirectional. In the latter case, the EIRP of the signal will be much less, since omni antennas do not have as much gain as directional antennas, and therefore field strength of the signal at your dish from the stray signal will be much less, since it's spread out over a large area and not concentrated in one direction..

So I predict that some may have to worry, but that the majority of us won't.

73.