Qualcomm Granted Licenses to Test 3.6 GHz LTE in Three States

By Doug Lung
published

The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) has granted three experimental licenses to Qualcomm Technologies to test C-band 4G/LTE equipment. License WH2XIN allows mobile operation in San Diego, using the 3550-3650 MHz band “to evaluate a downlink LTE system.” WH2XIO allows similar mobile operations in Mayport, Fla. WH2XIM covers testing 4G/LTE mobile in Raleigh, N.C. in the 3.5-3.6 GHz band. C-band satellite operators and users have expressed concern over interference to 3.7-4.2 GHz satellite downlinks. This week's RF Short has a link to a report from Peter B. de Selding on reallocation of C-band spectrum to terrestrial broadband.

OET's list of experimental license grants from 8/1/14 to 8/31/14 includes grants for operation in TV bands (white space). Rice University's license WH2XJU allows fixed and mobile operation on UHF TV channels 25, 27, 29 and 31 in Houston. Microsoft experimental license WH2XJJ allows operation on all VHF and UHF TV channels fixed and mobile in Redmond, Wash., “to conduct research and experimentation regarding use of the television broadcast bands (the white spaces).” The Department of ECE at the University of Wisconsin-Madison received WH2XKG to “to operate in 470-608 MHz and 614-698 MHz for research in indoor and outdoor communications” fixed and mobile in Madison.

The list includes experimental licenses for operation in amateur radio VHF and UHF bands. The University of Hawaii is authorized to “on 145.9805 MHz and 437.2705 MHz for development and demonstration of an experimental cots satellite bus, carrying an experimental hyperspectral imaging system” fixed in Lihue, Hawaii. The University of New Mexico received a “New experimental to operate on 437.425 MHz to test Cubesats” mobile, in non-geostationary space orbit and Albuquerque, N.M. The Boeing Company's license WH2XFQ allows operation “on spot frequencies between 420.00 and 494.00 MHz to support testing of a custom receiver box” fixed in Middletown, Del.

Other experimental license grants include one allowing operation in the 472-479 kHz band “to test and design antennas” fixed in Fitchburg, Wis. and another (WH2XIL) “to operate in 27.00-59.00, 68.00-89.00, 130.00-190.00, 460.00-488.00, 491.00-517.00 kHz for radio and signal testing” fixed and mobile in Wayland, Mass. and Skowhegan, Maine.

Doug Lung
Doug Lung

Doug Lung is one of America's foremost authorities on broadcast RF technology. As vice president of Broadcast Technology for NBCUniversal Local, H. Douglas Lung leads NBC and Telemundo-owned stations’ RF and transmission affairs, including microwave, radars, satellite uplinks, and FCC technical filings. Beginning his career in 1976 at KSCI in Los Angeles, Lung has nearly 50 years of experience in broadcast television engineering. Beginning in 1985, he led the engineering department for what was to become the Telemundo network and station group, assisting in the design, construction and installation of the company’s broadcast and cable facilities. Other projects include work on the launch of Hawaii’s first UHF TV station, the rollout and testing of the ATSC mobile-handheld standard, and software development related to the incentive auction TV spectrum repack.
A longtime columnist for TV Technology, Doug is also a regular contributor to IEEE Broadcast Technology. He is the recipient of the 2023 NAB Television Engineering Award. He also received a Tech Leadership Award from TV Tech publisher Future plc in 2021 and is a member of the IEEE Broadcast Technology Society and the Society of Broadcast Engineers.