The Federal Communications Commission voted Wednesday to make part of the 900-MHz spectrum available for companies in the utility, transportation, manufacturing and petrochemical sectors to develop “critical wireless broadband technologies and services.”
The 900-MHz band is currently reserved for narrowband land mobile radio communications by those industries. According to a press release, the FCC’s decision would make 6 MHz available for broadband licenses on a county-by-county basis, while the remaining 4 MHz would remain reserved for narrowband operations.
As part of the action, the commission will partially lift the 900-MHz application freeze so that existing licensees may relocate their operations as part of a transition plan. Utilities will be exempt from mandatory relocation. It will also modify the Association of American Railroads’ 900-MHz license, which gives it full use of the spectrum in areas surrounding rail lines in the contiguous U.S. Under the new rules, the AAR will be limited to the 4 MHz of narrowband frequencies.
Opening up the 900-MHz band for broadband use is expected to provide a range of benefits to utilities and other users that will not have to use noisy commercial spectrums. Potential uses of the new spectrum by the electric industry described by commissioners include cybersecurity applications, real-time damage notifications and more efficient routing of energy.
Industry reactions to the change have been largely positive, with John Hughes, director of network engineering for Ameren, saying the decision “paved the way for [Ameren] to deploy a smarter, stronger and more secure communications network with far greater bandwidth.” The Enterprise Wireless Alliance, which proposed the rule change alongside Anterix in 2014, also applauded the move, saying that businesses and critical infrastructure entities “deserve access to spectrum capable of providing broadband solutions to their industrial tasks.”
“The order we adopt today strikes a balance between the goals of expanding access to broadband wireless communications services and maintaining access to sufficient spectrum for existing narrowband services,” FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said in a separate statement. “Our plan today not only will serve the existing users of the band, but also will rely on their unique expertise to make the transition to broadband possible.”
Recent FCC decisions affecting the electric industry include last month’s vote to open a portion of the 6-GHz band for unlicensed use. That decision was intended to improve rural connectivity and free up more space for use by consumer Wi-Fi devices. But utilities objected to the move, fearing disruption to their communications in the spectrum. (See Utilities Alarmed as FCC Opens 6 GHz Band to Wi-Fi.)
