New Millimeter Wave Spectrum Bands April 5, 2018 00:00

In our last post we were discussing  the next steps for the US millimeter wave spectrum after FiberTower and the FCC settled FiberTower's licensing issues.  As we prepare for a 28GHz auction in November, and a 24GHz auction early next year, let's take a look at how each of the new millimeter wave frequency bands are configured.  Each of these images is taken from our updated Millimeter Wave - Spectrum Ownership Analysis Tool which is now reflecting the new channel band plans for 24GHz, 37GHz, and 47GHz.

24 GHz Spectrum:

In this view we show both the expanded 24GHz band configuration and the old 24GHz configuration. All of the spectrum depth values are calculated from the New 24GHz data. We have left the old 24GHz configuration, so you can continue to see the remaining 24GHz spectrum licenses which will need to be moved over to the New 24GHz by the FCC. The current licenses are licensed for a 40MHz uplink and 40MHz downlink which won't map properly to the new band plan.

37GHz Spectrum:

For the 37/39GHz bands we show the new 37GHz band alongside the reconfigured 39GHz band.  The new 39GHz columns are not populated because the existing spectrum holders will need to be transitioned to the larger/unpaired channels in the new 39GHz plan.  We are providing spectrum depth values for the new 37GHz spectrum and the old 39GHz spectrum.

47GHz Spectrum:

We have added the new 47GHz band configurations to the Spectrum Grid and each of the spectrum depth modules.

PEA Market Analysis:

Our last addition, is a PEA Market Analysis module.  This module displays spectrum depths for each selected carrier using the new FCC Auction market structure.  For the 28GHz auction, you can see the amount of spectrum that will be available in each of the PEAs in the LMDS A (FCC) column on the far right of the chart.