[CWN-Summit] Wireless Power Limits

[Bob Dixon]

Some interesting history regarding this.

We have installed community wireless systems in tiny towns in  
southeast Ohio ("Appalachia").
Ohio State University and OARnet contributed the staff time, and the  
Governor's Office of Appalachia provided grants for the equipment.
These are very rural areas, and the people who need to connect to the  
wireless network are quite far apart.

Even though we put our central station on a high building, it is  
difficult to reach some of these people. Some of them are willing to  
put up a high directional antenna to get coverage, but most are not.
The power limitation severely limits the coverage of the network, for  
no good reason.  There is NOTHING else anywhere around these areas  
that could be interfered with.

We gave a presentation at one of the summit conferences, and were  
surprised to find out that an FCC representative was there. He spoke  
with us afterwards, expressing interest in our program., and inviting  
us to give the presentation again to the FCC staff in Washington DC.   
We went there are did that, and the FCC audience was very appreciative  
and encouraging.  Then I brought up the question of power limits, and  
asked if we could get a waiver to allow higher power for these  
locations.  The policy people there were all for it. Then they called  
in someone from the enforcement division, and he was quite negative.   
He said there is a "standard procedure" for applying for a waiver, and  
it requires detailed engineering field studies (with expensive  
equipment that we don't have), and hiring a specialized attorney to  
handle all the paperwork.  All that would cost far more then the whole  
project.  And it can take years to get an answer.  So in practical  
terms, the answer was NO, we could not get a waiver for higher power,  
even though they agreed there was little chance of interfering with  
anything.  Typically only huge corporations can get waivers.

So of course the regulations should be changed, to realistically take  
into account rural areas, and to streamline or eliminate the  
bureaucracy.

I am hopeful that the new unlicensed spectrum "white spaces" being  
discussed may be a partial answer to this, but they are opposed by the  
big telcos, as they could be bypassed.
But even if the white spaces become available for community networks,  
they will not be used unless inexpensive equipment to use them becomes  
available.

Bob