Home Satellite TV Receivers

One might say Nokia (NYSE:NOK) has been in the thick of it, devoting substantial engineering resources to study coexistence between terrestrial operations and satellite operations in the 28 GHz band, but it's sounding more than a little exacerbated.

Nokia representatives have been meeting with FCC staff to describe the company's efforts, along with other industry partners, to meet with individual satellite operators to exchange information on the technical parameters of terrestrial operations and satellite operations in the 28 GHz band. In recent ex parte filings, Nokia said it also devoted substantial engineering resources to run simulations and provide technical analysis for the purpose of discussing coexistence.

Based on its studies, Nokia concluded that it does not expect that aggregate interference from 28 GHz band terrestrial operations will cause harmful interference into satellite receivers. It also found that limitations on terrestrial operations would not be required to mitigate against such interference.

Nokia said it volunteered to continue "these valuable technical discussions" with satellite companies, but "was disappointed that the satellite industry ended them based on claims that they could not move forward without elevation of satellite operations to a 'co-primary' status."

But Nokia also said that notwithstanding the further value that could have been gained through further discussions, the discussions yielded greater technical understanding by all parties involved. "Based on the knowledge that Nokia was able to learn from the satellite industry about the technical characteristics of their satellite systems, Nokia was able to provide a more informed record for the Commission's consideration in this important proceeding, " the company said.

In a Fact Sheet on the FCC's Spectrum Frontiers proposal that the commission will consider July 14, the FCC said the proposal would adopt effective sharing schemes to ensure that diverse users – including federal and non-federal, satellite and terrestrial and fixed and mobile – can co-exist. It also plans to create a path for continued and expanded satellite operations in the 28 GHz, 37 GHz and 39 GHz bands and adopt several mechanisms to provide flexibility to satellite operators and predictability for terrestrial operators.

Meanwhile, companies like ViaSat are complaining that the FCC's proposed approach puts new 5G operations ahead of licensed satellite and that satellite receivers would not be protected against 5G interference. In a presentation submitted to the commission, ViaSat said 5G can operate in many bands, but satellite bands are limited. The company is asking the FCC to allow the continued deployment of 28 GHz ViaSat-2 and 3 gateways on a protected basis, among other things.

For more:
- see this Nokia filing (PDF)
- see this ViaSat filing (PDF)

Related articles:
T-Mobile: Keep satellite operations at 28 GHz on secondary basis
CTIA tells FCC to reject arguments by Boeing, SIA about 37-40 GHz band