The President's Broadband Initiative: Impacts Upon NOAA Satellites and Users Presented to: 2011 NOAA Satellite Direct Readout Conference Miami, Florida April 7, 2011 Presented by: Mark Mulholland Office of Systems Development NOAA Satellite and Information Service 1

Broadband Initiative – Key Events Presidential Memorandum published on June 28, 2010 –Make available 500 [Megahertz] spectrum over the next 10 years –Provide a specific plan and timetable by Oct 1, 2010 –Key considerations included: Need to ensure no loss of critical existing and planned government capabilities International implications Need for appropriate enforcement mechanisms and authorities –NOAA impacts included satellite, radiosonde, & NEXRAD bands Office of Management and Budget (OMB) directed Commerce to conduct a Fast Track Review to identify spectrum which could be available within 5 years – MHZ identified as candidate band – NOAA “L-Band” 2

Broadband Initiative – Key Events Federal Communications Commission (FCC) invited public comment The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) led a multi-agency study of 21 separate bands The 10-year plan and the Fast Track Evaluation Report were released on November 15,

Results Impacting NOAA MHz identified for fast-track sharing –Both NOAA and commercial broadband users can use the band –Affects polar satellite direct broadcast – high-resolution picture transmission (HRPT) and other services –Critical NOAA sites protected by exclusion zones, inside which commercial broadband could not operate –HRPT users outside exclusion zones will be vulnerable to interference MHz removed from consideration –No effect upon geostationary satellite direct broadcast services Modification to the GOES-R communication subsystem Radiosonde redesign required by GOES-R redesign NEXRAD band remains in 10-year study effort 4

Present- Day Fast-track Shared Spectrum GOES-R & JPSS Era: Current GOES & Polar Current  end of life GOES-15: mid-2020 Polar: 2022 (MetOp-C) 6-10 year overlap period when legacy & new are operating 15 MHz Shared Band Recommended For Fast- Track Sharing 5 Future “Sharing” will be implemented with goal of preventing harmful interference between government & commercial sectors

Designated Exclusion Zones 6 POES HRPT Sites Identified By Arrows

Example of Imagery Interference 7 NOAA-18: Interference Free NOAA-16: 2 hrs later – Interference

FCC Public Notice Responses Over 220 received – Federal agencies not allowed to respond –State & local governments –First-responder organizations –Universities supporting NWS –Major telecoms who would benefit from the auction –Numerous foreign partners and intergovernmental organizations (WMO, EUMETSAT) –Montana Governor & both Delaware U.S. senators Responses overwhelmingly negative from all sources Broadband company issues –Frequency range not adjacent to band they already occupy –Sharing won’t work – government needs to vacate band before they would consider using the L-band –Not compatible with rest-of-world standards 8

Unprotected Polar Satellite Data Users Over 160 registered U.S. users and over 600 foreign users –State, local, & tribal governments; universities; fishing & aviation sectors; media –Common locations: coastal areas; regions prone to severe weather, fires or floods –Essential public service functions: Civil aviation flight safety, fishing industry, coastal storm monitoring, hurricane intensity, surge and flooding detection, high-latitude weather forecasting, firefighting, broadcast meteorology, and first-response Users outside exclusion zones facing significantly-increased risk of interference resulting in loss of critical real-time products Polar direct broadcast cannot be replaced by terrestrial distribution –No capability on spacecraft to store high-resolution imagery for later downlink –Interference and lack of exclusion zones results in permanent loss of imagery and critical real-time products 9

Next Steps Conduct technical analyses to fully understand impacts to operations –Adjacent band interference around key sites, especially Wallops –Atmospheric ducting along coastlines – Wallops is vulnerable –Results may show that L-Band must be relocated from DC area Continue user outreach initiatives –Encouraging user to provide views to FCC and others –AMS – HRPT equipment manufacturers and broadcast firms –NOAA Direct Readout Conference – Miami, April 4-8, 2011 Initiate GOES-R and radiosondes redesign as soon as possible when funding becomes available Coordinate with NTIA, who is responsible for working with FCC to formalize exclusion zones Develop long-term strategy for efficient use of spectrum 10

References Presidential Broadband Initiative: – memorandum-unleashing-wireless-broadband-revolutionhttp:// memorandum-unleashing-wireless-broadband-revolution Fast-track Recommendation Report: – 010.pdfhttp:// 010.pdf Ten-Year Report: – FCC Public Notice (Proceeding ): – 123http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs/proceeding/view?z=zgk6j&name=

Questions? 12

Panel Discussion Members represent diverse L-Band community –National Telecommunications and Information Administration –NOAA Satellite Operations Facility –Direct readout users International – WMO and Environment Canada Domestic – Louisiana State University –Direct readout equipment company Goals & objectives –Provide details about what will happen next –Discuss NOAA and user operational needs & concerns –Solicit & discuss ideas for future L-Band operations 13