The FCC has designated the spectrum it will contribute to the
spectrum sharing innovations test-bed, a collaboration between
the commission and the National Telecommunications and
Information Administration to evaluate new methods for sharing
spectrum among different users and services. NTIA contributed
the 410 to 420 MHz band and the FCC has decided to contribute 10
MHz of spectrum between 470 and 512 MHz. Because these
frequencies are used for TV broadcasting and land-mobile
systems, including public safety, the 10 MHz portion of the band
used for the test-bed will vary depending on location and
existing users. The test-bed—which uses government spectrum from
NTIA and public spectrum from the FCC—was mandated by the
President’s Spectrum Policy Initiative established in 2003. I
first reported on the spectrum sharing test-bed in the June 16,
2006 RF Report and noted that the FCC was considering unused TV
channels and spectrum in the 12 GHz microwave band for the
experiment. At that time the term “interference