Verizon Wireless took exception to FCC assumptions in recent repo...

final reports by NTIA and FCC (CD April 2 p1), Verizon said agency didn’t determine how much spectrum assigned to ITFS licensees was used to provide instructional services and how much was leased to commercial providers such as WorldCom and Sprint. Verizon said final report attributed failure to include estimates on how much excess capacity was being leased to MMDS operators to lack of licensing data. It said there was “overwhelming evidence” that “significant portions of the 2500-2690 MHz band are no longer used to deliver educational services, and that the band has been largely commercialized.” (ITFS licensees have made dozens of filings at FCC in recent weeks describing educational uses of spectrum and urging agency to leave it untouched). Verizon questioned how Commission could conclude band segmentation would create technical and economic difficulties for ITFS licensees if it didn’t know exactly how much spectrum they were using for educational purposes or for leasing. “The only harm to ITFS incumbents would be the potential loss of revenue collected through spectrum leases,” Verizon said. FCC Mass Media Bureau recently rejected Verizon emergency petition that asked that decisions on 2-way applications for MMDS and ITFS be delayed until larger decisions on 3G spectrum allocations were made (CD April 5 p6). Meanwhile, Sprint submitted 3G position paper to Commission Tues. contending that relocation of incumbents in 2.1 and 2.5 GHz bands would impose huge relocation costs on new entrants, would compromise Sprint’s “ability to compete against telephone and cable company high-capacity residential services and will likely end the interdependent relationships developed between Sprint and its educational partners.” In its reply comments on final reports, CTIA asked why documents didn’t factor in recommendations made by industry during outreach programs conducted by NTIA. “The recommendations were either not addressed or were dismissed out- of-hand in the NTIA report,” CTIA wrote. Military has left several questions unanswered in NTIA report, including how that spectrum’s increased use worldwide for commercial wireless services had affected Dept. of Defense operations, CTIA said. (CTIA has indicated preference for using 1710-1850 MHz, rather than MMDS/ITFS bands, for advanced wireless services allocations.) CTIA questioned why industry wasn’t given chance to comment on DoD report appended to NTIA final 3G document. CTIA noted DoD concerns in moving satellite control operations to 2025-2110 MHz because of regulatory status of those systems in relation to electronic newsgathering systems in U.S.