The technology of a service must be reported based on the last mile, or the part of the transmission path that terminates at the end-user location. For reporting terrestrial fixed wireless availability and subscription data, there are three unique technology codes to reflect the type of spectrum used.
The BDC system allows filers to report only one type of terrestrial fixed wireless service for each location, and the maximum advertised upload and download speeds reported as available to each location must be the maximum speeds associated with the technology code being reported.
What are the Tech Codes for Terrestrial Fixed Wireless?
70 – Unlicensed Terrestrial Fixed Wireless
71 – Licensed Terrestrial Fixed Wireless
72 – Licensed-by-Rule Terrestrial Fixed Wireless
How to apply the Tech Codes to your data
The three codes are designed to be mutually exclusive, so that all the possible combinations of three spectrum types are covered by a particular code – see table below. For example, if your network is designed to provide service to a location using a combination of unlicensed and licensed spectrum, your data should describe service to that location using Tech Code 71.
Detailed Tech Code Descriptions
70 – Unlicensed Terrestrial Fixed Wireless
- Service provided to a location or area if only unlicensed spectrum is or would be used for the last-mile connection to the end user.
- Providers that use licensed or licensed-by-rule spectrum for backhaul, but use or would use only unlicensed spectrum for the last-mile connection to the location or area should file their service using Tech Code 70.
71 – Licensed Terrestrial Fixed Wireless
- Service provided to a location or area if either (a) entirely licensed spectrum or (b) a hybrid of licensed spectrum with unlicensed and/or licensed-by-rule spectrum is used for the last-mile connection to the end user.
- If a provider is not using any licensed spectrum to make last mile, fixed Internet access service available to a location or area, the filer should not use Tech Code 71 to report service there. Tech Code 70 or 72 should be used instead, as appropriate.
- Includes last mile service provided over a 4G LTE or 5G NR mobile network on licensed frequencies but sold as a fixed solution.
- Includes Priority Access Licenses (PALs), but not General Authorized Access (GAA), in the 3.5 GHz Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) band.
- Providers that use licensed microwave spectrum for backhaul but otherwise use unlicensed and/or licensed-by-rule spectrum for last-mile connections to end users should not use Tech Code 71. Instead, they should use Tech Code 70 or 72, as appropriate.
72 – Licensed-by-Rule Terrestrial Fixed Wireless
- Service provided to a location using either (a) entirely licensed-by-rule spectrum or (b) a hybrid of licensed-by-rule and unlicensed spectrum to make the last-mile connection to the fixed location.
- Licensed-by-rule spectrum users include operators providing last-mile connections through GAA in the 3.5 GHz CBRS band.
If any spectrum that is considered licensed (but not licensed-by-rule) is used to provide last mile, fixed service to a location or area, then Tech Code 71 should be used. If the provider is not using either licensed or licensed-by-rule spectrum to make service available to a location or area, then Tech Code 70 should be used.
Special Temporary and Experimental Authorizations
If a provider holds a valid Special Temporary Authority (STA) that it uses to provide last-mile terrestrial fixed wireless services to a location or area, it should file the locations to which it makes service available, pursuant to the STA, using Tech Code 71 (Licensed). Locations that fall outside of the area covered by the STA and are served using non-licensed spectrum should be reported using Tech Code 70 or 72, as appropriate.
Broadband internet access service made available pursuant to an experimental authorization (to the extent permissible under the Commission’s rules) should not be reported in the BDC.