Update on New Spectrum Initiative and Recent Efforts

Dear Friends and Supporters,

Silicon Flatirons’ work in spectrum policy continues apace, and we’d like to inform you on progress since our December update.

The FCC TAC (Technological Advisory Council) published a white paper in December describing how to assess interference risk between emerging communication satellite constellations. Pierre was the lead author of this paper, which noted that this method could help set boundaries between acceptable and unacceptable risk, and focus attention on the most effective interference mitigations. The TAC recommended that the FCC consider using risk assessment in this satellite application.

As we mentioned in our previous email, the FCC issued a public notice seeking comment on TAC recommendations in areas where we have taken a lead: harm claim thresholds, risk-informed interference assessment (RIIA), and a next-generation architecture for radio interference resolution. The notice attracted a lot of interest, with 22 comments filed by the January 31 deadline, and five subsequent reply comments. In his comment, Pierre noted that risk assessment is gaining momentum: we’ve seen several new case studies, the use of engineering risk metrics by Ofcom (UK’s communications regulator), and endorsement by the CSMAC (Commerce Spectrum Management Committee). Pierre also noted that ongoing research has refined and fleshed out the harm claim thresholds approach since the TAC’s original papers.

We have also published a Flatirons Report, The Emerging Governance Challenges Related to 5G, about a roundtable of industry experts and public interest organizations we convened last year. The report summarizes the discussion, notes questions for further research, and offers recommendations.

Should you have comments or ideas for our Spectrum Initiative here at Silicon Flatirons, please contact us at Dale.Hatfield@colorado.edu and Pierre.deVries@colorado.edu.

With best wishes,

Pierre de Vries Dale Hatfield
Spectrum Initiative Co-directors and Executive Fellows

Know What’s Next