The U.S. Federal Communications Commission is taking several steps to enable greater use of wireless backhaul for areas where fiber might not be cost-effective.
In June, the FCC decided to allow use of the upper 6 GHz frequency bands to use channel bandwidths as wide as 30 MHz. The FCC’s rules require that 6 GHz links have a minimum path length of 17 kilometers, and a 30 MHz channel must have a minimum payload capacity of 134 Mbps. Also, 6 GHz licenses can be relatively easy to obtain.
More recently, the FCC launched a proceeding to explore other ways of enhancing wireless backhaul. The FCC is investigating use of smaller antennas and lowering its minimum capacity requirements for links in rural areas where broadband traffic may be lighter.
In a separate proceeding, the FCC also is looking at freeing up additional broadcast TV “white space” spectrum for wireless backhaul as well.
Other possible rule changess would allow spectrum available for backhaul below the 13 GHz band. Fixed wireless licensees might be able to share 750 MHz of spectrum in the 6875-7125 MHz and 12700-13200 MHz bands with broadcast stations and cable systems that already utilize microwave links on those frequencies.
In addition, the FCC proposes to give fixed wireless licensees more flexibility to temporarily operate below the FCC’s capacity requirements. Presently, the FCC requires licensees in certain Part 101 bands to operate with a minimum payload capacity at all times (the required capacity is expressed in terms of megabits per second, and varies according to channel bandwidth).
The FCC also is looking at greater spatial reuse of backhaul spectrum via use of side lobe transmissions (also called “auxiliary links”).
The idea here was to permit the licensee to deploy multiple links over the same spectrum in areas more proximate to its transmitter (as opposed to just a single directional link pointed at one distant receive location), without having to license or coordinate each link separately.