PRIVATE WIRELESS USERS LINE UP SPECTRUM COUNTER-POSITIONS AT FCC

In Nov., Nextel asked FCC to put its proposed rule changes in place quickly, including assigning 10 MHz of mobile satellite service (MSS) spectrum to carrier (CD Nov 28 p1). White Paper said spectrum swap would ameliorate interference that public safety users at 800 MHz had encountered from commercial wireless users. Proposal would realign frequencies at 700, 800 and 900 MHz and 2.1 GHz and more than double public safety’s current allocation of 9.5 MHz of noncontiguous spectrum at 800 MHz. Nextel has said it would provide up to $500 million for equipment retuning and other transition expenses for public safety users. Nextel would swap 4 MHz of guardband spectrum in 700 MHz band, 8 MHz of specialized mobile radio (SMR) spectrum in lower noncontiguous channels of 800 MHz and 4 MHz of SMR spectrum at 900 MHz. Nextel then would receive another 16 MHz, including 6 MHz in upper 800 MHz band and two 5-MHz blocks from reserve MSS spectrum. While proposal has sparked early protests from private wireless users, Assn. of Public-Safety Communications Officials-International and other public safety entities supported plan in Nov. Besides NPRM, industry observers are keeping eye on report expected from NTIA as early as this week. Legislatively mandated report to Congress will cover spectrum needs of critical infrastructure users such as electric utilities and railroads.

“The industry is abuzz with people trying to work out other solutions to this problem,” said spokesman for Industrial Telecommunications Assn. (ITA). “Nextel obviously struck a nerve here. There are people coming together to come up with solutions, working with public safety and with all the different user groups to come up with a consensus plan that will be a more workable solution.” ITA was among private wireless industry groups and companies that signed Nov. letter to Powell cautioning that Nextel plan would disrupt communications for utilities, railroads, pipelines, airlines, others.

NAM and MRFAC, which is NAM’s frequency coordinating arm for private land mobile bands, offered alternative to Nextel plan to FCC late last month. It would reband 800 MHz similarly to approach Commission’s at 700 MHz, group said. Under NAM blueprint: (1) Public safety users would retune their systems from 821-824/866-869 MHz to 806-811/851-856 MHz, or Chs. 1-200. (2) Business licensees would retune to 821-824/866-869 MHz, which also would happen under Nextel proposal. NAM said that would separate public safety and private wireless users from SMR systems to reduce interference. “Since business users are much more compatible with public safety than Nextel-type systems, as the Commission recognized in creating the 700 MHz guard band, public safety benefits by having a compatible neighbor,” NAM said. Group said that under its plan business users would avoid disruption and public safety wold be given block of spectrum next to 24 MHz that already had been allocated to those operations at 700 MHz. NAM criticized Nextel plan because it wouldn’t control 700 MHz or enough 900 MHz spectrum in all parts of country for manufacturers to migrate their systems to such other bands.

Motient told Powell in Jan. 15 letter that Nextel plan didn’t address how its 250,000 wireless data subscribers would be protected as part of any relocation from 800 MHz band. Motient this month filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, saying its customers wouldn’t be affected by reorganization. It operates smaller of 2 networks used by BlackBerry devices and provides data services to Palm V users. Motient told FCC it had spent $500 million on 800 MHz infrastructure equipment and any disruption it experienced as part of relocation would be felt by customers such as UPS, which uses Motient network. “Contrary to its assertions that no private radio or commercial licensee would experience a net gain or loss of spectrum, the Nextel plan also does not provide a clear picture of what spectrum would be available for displaced carriers,” Motient said, and it didn’t think it could replicate its 800 MHz footprint at 700 or 900 MHz. Imposition of relocation costs in face of bankruptcy proceedings would be “irresponsible and unsound public policy,” Motient said.

Second largest holder of spectrum at 800 MHz, Southern LINC, also told FCC it couldn’t support Nextel plan. Carrier, whose parent is energy giant Southern Co., also is only other wireless company in U.S. that uses same Motorola iDEN technology as Nextel, said Michael Rosenthal, Southern LINC dir.-regulatory affairs. He told us Southern LINC concerns reflected those raised by United Telecom Council (UTC) last fall. UTC said Nextel plan would disrupt “critical infrastructure communications” used by utilities, water systems, energy companies. Among Southern LINC objections is that Nextel plan would create “a lot of upheaval and uncertainty for all the other licensees that would be moved around,” Rosenthal said. Southern LINC customers include utility customers, commercial users and public safety agencies such as Ga. State Police, he said.

Southern LINC also has been quietly working with utilities that represent large holders of 800 MHz spectrum to explore way of piecing together licenses for system that would have big enough footprint to compete with Nextel’s nationwide SMR system, Rosenthal said. “We are working with these other carriers to try to figure out if we could share our switch with them and allow them to backhaul from their sites to our switch,” creating essentially wide area network that would market excess capacity of participating licensees, he said. “We are just trying to get it started and they are talking about moving the utilities off the band,” he said, saying that didn’t pose attractive proposition if utilities suddenly were faced with having to buy new equipment for relocation.

Meanwhile, American Mobile Telecommunications Assn. (AMTA) will host meetings on Nextel White Paper next month in what AMTA billed as “interactive policy forum” for commercial mobile radio service, private wireless users, utility infrastructure licensees, public safety users. AMTA members include Nextel. Meetings are Feb. 19 in Baltimore and Feb. 26 in Dallas-Ft. Worth. Attendees will include senior executives of Nextel, APCO International and commercial wireless carriers, AMTA said.