educational broadband service spectrum

 EDUCATIONAL BROADBAND SERVICE SPECTRUM INFORMATION MEMORANDUM: CHAMPAIGN, IL AND ENVIRONS JUNE 23, 2014 Robert Finch 820 Great Cumberland Road McLean, VA 22102 Copyright © 2014 Select Spectrum LLC
Parkland College Spectrum Information Memorandum Page 2 of 5 INTRODUCTION Select Spectrum, on behalf of Parkland College, has prepared this Spectrum Information Memorandum “SIM”. Parkland College holds an FCC Educational Broadband Service “EBS” spectrum license that is available for lease. This document provides a brief description of the opportunity along with relevant information. More information can be found on our website1, the FCC’s Universal Licensing System2 and Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)3. Any interested party may also contact Select Spectrum and request more detailed information about Parkland College spectrum license, uses or the planned leasing process. CONTACT FOR QUESTIONS OR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Robert Finch Select Spectrum LLC [email protected] 820 Great Cumberland Rd McLean, VA 22102 703 635 2686 http://selectspectrum.com PROCESS TIMING Non-­‐binding Expressions of Interest (EOI) will be due by June 25th, 2014 at 2.00 PM EDT. Interested parties should submit their EOI via email to [email protected] SPECTRUM LICENSES AVAILABLE FOR LEASE Parkland College’s offering of its call sign, WLX908, for lease4 presents a unique opportunity for the following reasons: • The Parkland College frequencies provide 22.5 MHz overall capacity and are compatible with Mobile “4G” technologies including WiMAX5 and LTE6 as well as with fixed wireless multipoint, point-­‐to-­‐point and video transmission systems. • All regulatory and substantial service requirements have been met. An entity may lease the spectrum now for current or future use without any immediate requirement to build a network. The License was renewed in 2013 for 10 years through 2023. 1
http://selectspectrum.com/
http://wireless.fcc.gov/uls/index.htm?job=home
3
http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/textidx?sid=64f63e21c14d853c79afa96fd333ff3e&c=ecfr&tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title47/47cfrv1_02.tpl
4
The proposed lease must meet all FCC requirements including a maximum term not to exceed 30 years
and the requirement that five percent of the capacity of the license must be reserved for educational use.
5
WiMAX is the common name for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access
as governed by the WiMAX forum http://wimaxforum.org .
6
LTE stands for Long Term Evolution and is a 4th generation standard developed by 3GPP for the mobile
wireless industry including companies such as AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint.
2
Parkland College •
Spectrum Information Memorandum Page 3 of 5 Based upon 2012 Census Population Estimates, the license covers 317,000 people on 22.5 MHz, resulting in 7.13 million MHz POPs BASIC INFORMATION ABOUT 2.5 GHz EBS SPECTRUM The Educational Broadband Service is the successor to an older service created in the 1960s that was designed for instructional television broadcasts. In practice, however, few of the educational licensees ever operated broadcast networks because of the costs involved. The FCC modified the band rules on several occasions, and in 2005, the FCC modernized the band by changing the channel structure and updating the rules. Broadcast television is still allowed, but most licensees have taken advantage of the new rules that allow for fixed and mobile wireless Internet operations. Since most schools and colleges don’t have the funds, expertise or need to operate a wireless broadband network, they have entered into excess capacity leases allowed for by the new regulations. These leases provide schools with cash payments and educational Internet service in exchange for spectrum rights while fostering economic development through greater Internet access to the community. Currently, most operators on the EBS band are using 4G7 protocols, including WiMAX and LTE, which are supported by a wide variety of equipment manufacturers. However, the spectrum 7
“Fourth Generation” technology developed for the broadband mobile wireless industry
Parkland College Spectrum Information Memorandum Page 4 of 5 can also be used to support more specialized networks including utility smart grid applications, government organizations and public safety8, etc. FCC rules require that a limited portion of the spectrum must also be used for educational purposes, and spectrum leases generally require commercial lessees to provide support for specified educational use of the license. Cisco Systems forecasts global mobile wireless data usage will grow by nearly 11 fold (61 percent compounded annually) between 2013 and 2018.9 The primary driver of this trend is the increased demand for video, combined with the rapid cost reductions of data transfer. Wireless operators are investing significant funds to acquire spectrum rights to allow for capacity expansion on existing networks or the construction of new wireless networks and this trend is expected to continue. BASIC INFORMATION ABOUT CHAMPAIGN, IL Champaign is in many respects a large college town; the largest employer by far is the University of Illinois, while Parkland College is the 4th largest employer. This provides a great deal of stability; in addition, a large student population isn’t fully reflected in permanent population figures. In addition, a large technology industry has taken advantage of the highly educated population. In recent years the population has seen steady growth (20% between 2000 and 2010; 1.8% between 2010 and 2012). INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED IN EOIs All parties interested in leasing the spectrum should include the following information in their EOIs. 1. Name of organization and contact information of the individual coordinating the offer. 2. The proposed offer terms: a. upfront fee, b. quarterly royalties, and c. escalation percentage or amount and timing of royalty escalations. 3. Proposed initial term (duration in years) and identification of number and length of any proposed renewal terms. 4. Proposal for providing devices, free accounts and/or service credits to assist Parkland College in meeting its FCC Substantial Service requirements for the EBS licenses. 5. Any other important lease terms or terms inconsistent with industry norms. 6. The proposed timeline for completing the lease (a timely and efficient plan is preferred). 8
NYCWIN is a post 9/11 public safety network in New York that utilizes leased 2.5 GHz spectrum
licenses to provide mobile wireless broadband access for a variety of municipal organizations. See
http://www.nyc.gov/html/doitt/html/citywide/nycwin.shtml
9
http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/solutions/collateral/service-provider/visual-networking-indexvni/white_paper_c11-520862.html
Parkland College Spectrum Information Memorandum Page 5 of 5 7. Identification of any contingencies or areas of concern associated with the EOI. 8. A list of any due diligence items required. 9. Background information about the organization including summary financial information and identification of senior managers. Interested parties may submit more than one response including different alternatives for completing the transaction, but all responses should be submitted by the deadline. If a party is submitting more than one alternative as part of its EOI, each proposal should be described clearly.