Your blogger will be teaching a new course at the Northern Virginia Campus of Virginia Tech. The course is

ECE 6604 Advanced Topics in Communications: Spectrum Policy and Wireless Innovation.

DESCRIPTION:

This course will review the legal and technical issues in spectrum management, focusing on the issues involved in bringing a new radio technology into operational use in today’s spectrum environment. The discussion will focus on the US regulatory system, but of necessity will include the impact of the International Telecommunications Union and bilateral agreements with Canada and Mexico. The course will use ongoing and recent FCC spectrum proceedings as case studies. Students will be asked to read and discuss actual FCC filings on technical spectrum policy controversies and then write their own draft comments for FCC on their analyses of the issues involved. Students will be encouraged, but not required, to file their analysis of a current issue with the FCC.

- Syllabus

• Goals and History of Spectrum Management – 10%
• Technical Issues in Spectrum Management

• Interference Control & Prevention – 15%
• Spectrum Efficiency – 10%
• Supporting Innovation – 10%

• Spectrum Management Institutions – 15%
• US Spectrum Management: FCC Legal Issues for Engineers – 20%
• Case Studies of Key FCC Spectrum Management Decisions – 20%

The course will be taught on Tuesday from 4:00 - 6:45 PM beginning January 18.

Readers are encouraged to share this information with colleagues who might be interested.