FCC could have notice of proposed rulemaking out for comment as s...

address broader set of issues than those raised in Nextel White Paper given to FCC in Nov. Nextel submitted proposed plan on dealing with interference concerns of public safety licensees at 800 MHz by realigning frequencies at 700, 800 and 900 MHz and 2.1 GHz. Proposal would entail commercial wireless operators’ providing public safety community with up to $500 million for costs of retuning. “It’s a great proposal if you're public safety and you're Nextel, but if you're anybody else you end up getting hurt,” Smith said at media lunch Tues. “There are better alternatives out there. There is a problem out there, we agree.” While there isn’t disagreement about interference, both public safety and private wireless operators are experiencing it, she said. Although Nextel isn’t transgressing FCC rules, interference still has been problem in bands such as 800 MHz because technologies there don’t co- exist well together, Smith said. Private land mobile industry, including ITA, has been working on alternative proposal, which will be released during public comment period for NPRM, she said. Besides Nextel White Paper, National Assn. of Manufacturers (NAM) has submitted proposal on possibilities for rebanding, without relocating users such as private wireless systems. Smith said that besides citing those proposals, she would like NPRM to describe interference problems and seek broader range of solutions. Resolution of interference problems will take years, “because you are talking about reconfiguring an entire band,” Smith said. “There are thousands of licensees in there.” In other areas, NPRM released earlier this month that set out service rules for 27 MHz being transferred from govt. to nongovt. services was somewhat disappointing for private wireless, Smith said. “It doesn’t look like it’s going to be as helpful as we wanted it to be originally,” she said. FCC had 1999 policy statement that indicated agency would provide 10 MHz to land mobile communications service as part of this proceeding, Smith said. Instead, under proposal, land mobile communications will get potential 6 MHz, which has to be auctioned for fixed and mobile services, she said. “Depending on how they open up that auction, we could get nothing,” she said. “If they open it up to all the commercial providers, then this industry will be unable to compete against the larger providers.” Land mobile industry also has access to 2 MHz at 1390-1392 MHz, but that’s open to large range of providers, she said. “We kind of were hoping for a land mobile communication service allocation, which we didn’t really get.”