The US broadband plan is due in Congress on March 17, outlining how the country will make access universal and open, and how more spectrum will be found to support the wireless aspects. Even before the overall strategy is formulated, the administration is discussing some of the thornier issues that will arise within the plan, including networks for public safety and the smart grid.
Both of these are expected to use wireless as well as wireline broadband, to increase flexibility, mobility and coverage. But both require complex public-private relationships, and a volume of spectrum that may not be available in many areas.
The FCC is keen that the fledgling smart grid sector should be shaped from day one by the broadband plan, so that issues such as spectrum and standards are addressed in a coordinated way. Of all the companies that have submitted comments in this area in the past weeks, Cisco’s may well be the most closely watched, given the giant’s influence over internet networks. The firm this week submitted a ‘five-point plan’ to the FCC, urging the regulator not to be distracted by looking for dedicated spectrum for the grid, and, surprisingly enough for the IP supremo, not to think of this entirely as an IP issue.
Cisco agrees with the FCC that the upcoming National Broadband Plan should include smart grid frameworks and that the two have to go hand-in-hand, since the grid will largely depend on broadband ‘ often wireless-based – being available to everyone. In its submission, it writes: ‘Not only will the new smart grid largely depend upon broadband technologies, but the extension of broadband to all end users is critical to delivering on the power and promise of a broadband enabled electric system. We will not be able to achieve the full effect of a smart grid without a robust broadband network that connects the supply side with the demand side of the electric industry ubiquitously.’ Current utility networks generally transmit only 256 bytes of data with latency of a full two seconds, it argues.
It believes issues of security can largely be handled by existing technologies and processes, as long as the authorities harness the expertise of the IT industry effectively.
And it pushes a familiar line ‘ to make greater use of unlicensed spectrum for all forms of broadband (not only because it is free and available in large quantities, but because this reduces the power of the telcos and paves the way to the open internet world Cisco favors). Some utilities and telcos have called for separate licensed spectrum to be allocated just for the grid, which raises the specter of the problems that have stood in the path of a similar plan for a national wireless public safety network. The FCC’s new energy and environmental director, Nick Sinai, talked of a separate band, in which to run commercial networks using proprietary grid technologies. Cisco responds, saying: ‘It appears that advanced wireless technology platforms available today or in the near future are likely to have sufficient bandwidth and quality of service to support evolving smart grid needs for the foreseeable future. Thus, additional spectrum is not needed to deploy technology that is unique or specific to smart grid applications, per se.’
And it goes a step further, calling for unlicensed bands to be used. It reiterates its usual arguments against concerns about interference in these frequencies. ‘In Cisco’s view, interference concerns are misplaced,’ its document says. ‘The 802.11 standard is a ‘contention-based’ protocol, which means that, if packets are missed as a result of simultaneous use of a channel by different devices, they are simply requested by the receiving device and resent. Thus, an increase in simultaneous users does not fundamentally affect the reliability of the data transfer.’
Whether or not the FCC learns lessons, in its smart grid plans, from the public safety experience, that issue remains unaddressed. Originally, one block of the 700MHz spectrum was earmarked for a public-private partnership that would build a network whose primary purpose would be safety, but which could also be used for commercial services. But the D Block failed to reach its reserve price in the 2008 auction. Ever since, the authorities have been considering whether to hang onto the plan, but with revised conditions, such as lower starting price; or come up with a new approach. It has emerged that the FCC does not plan to include a recommendation on re-awarding the D Block in its National Broadband Plan.
Jamie Barnett, chief of the regulator’s public safety and homeland security bureau, said this was because current law requires the FCC to auction the 10MHz block to commercial operators. The Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO) is now asking lawmakers to be awarded that spectrum directly, to add to the 10MHz already allocated for safety.
With the agency looking around for new spectrum to support all aspects of the broadband plan, there is likely to be string of new auctions. However, with the beachfront mobile bands already gone and with open access potentially depressing the value for cellcos, the sums will not be as stellar as the $20bn raised by the 700MHz sale. Indeed, President Obama’s new budget for fiscal 2011 anticipates the FCC will raise $1.6bn from spectrum sales between now and 2020. And the proposal seeks to give the FCC new authority to levy fees on unauctioned spectrum, which could generate another $4.8bn. It also proposes making the FCC’s authority to auction wireless licenses permanent ‘ the mandate it set to expire on September 30 2012. Obama’s budget must be approved by Congress.
Recently, the FCC backed away from a plan that would force broadcasters to give up some of their spectrum holdings for wireless broadband use. But the agency was keen to stress this did not mean it was taking a less serious view of the shortage of frequencies. Phil Bellaria, director of scenario planning for the broadband taskforce, wrote in an FCC blog post that the risk of overloaded networks was on the rise. “With the iPad pointing to even greater demand for mobile broadband on the horizon, we must ensure that network congestion doesn’t choke off a service that consumers clearly find so appealing or frustrate mobile broadband’s ability to keep us competitive in the global broadband economy,” he wrote.