TMI Wants Nextel to Clear BAS Band, Share Data Before MSS Services Fly

Nextel is to clear out the 2 GHz band as part of the FCC’s omnibus 800 MHz reconfiguration order, but TMI told the FCC in comments on the relocation plan it doesn’t like the looks of Nextel’s proposed BAS relocation schedule. When it reconfigured the 800 MHz band, the Commission gave Nextel 5 MHz of replacement spectrum in the lower end of the BAS band (1990-1995 MHz), provided Nextel agreed to clear all incumbent BAS facilities in the 1990-2025 MHz band in 2 stages ending Sept. 7, 2007. The order mandates that Nextel also bear the up-front costs of doing so. In the first clearing stage, Nextel has until Sept. 7, 2006, to relocate whatever incumbent BAS licensees it chooses, based on its service needs. In the 2nd stage, Nextel must clear all remaining BAS markets before the 2007 end date. According to the order, MSS operators entering the market before June 27, 2008 (36 months from the formal starting date for the 800 MHz reconfiguration period), will assume a pro rata share of the BAS relocation costs in what Nextel calls a “true-up process.” The order also says if an MSS operator enters early, it must relocate all BAS incumbents from the top 30 markets itself before starting service.

Nextel filed its BAS relocation plan with the FCC one month ago. Nextel officials said they coordinated closely with the NAB and the Society of Bcst. Engineers to list market “clusters” to be relocated in the 2 stages (CD April 11 p5). But TMI said last week the plan is “inadequate” because it doesn’t identify specific BAS licensees to be relocated and doesn’t give firm dates for completing the process. TMI said in the filing its MSS launch milestone is in Nov. 2007 and it may initiate its own band clearance activities as early as 2006. TMI said it needs market-by-market and facility-by-facility information on the status of Nextel’s relocation program so it doesn’t duplicate Nextel efforts.

MSS industry members said the crux of the issue is that most people thought the BAS band would be cleared well before MSS 2 GHz systems got rolling. In July 2004, when the FCC adopted the Nextel plan, most 2 GHZ licensees’ prospective launch dates were 3 years away. Originally, a 6-month window stood between the end of Nextel’s BAS relocation and the estimated start date of 2 GHZ MSS operations. That window has shrunk to 2 months. And because of the squeeze, TMI “needs to be able to participate” in the BAS relocation process “well before the end of Stage 2,” the firm said.

Nextel plans to relocate 140 of 210 markets in Stage 2, risking more delays, said TMI. The most heavily used BAS market, L.A., plus 18 other top 20 TV markets, are among those Nextel has slated for Stage 2 relocation. An MSS industry member said it’s conceivable that 2/3 of BAS markets wouldn’t even have concluded a Frequency Relocation Agreement (FRA) until March of 2007, 6 months before the band is supposed to be cleared, placing a huge logistical burden on Nextel and the BAS operators in a very brief period.

To remedy that, Nextel should provide specific relocation dates to go with the market “clusters” it listed for the FCC, and share information in its detailed BAS licensee database “subject to appropriate confidentiality provisions,” TMI said. TMI needs Nextel’s BAS relocation data to identify the top 30 markets in which it may wish to exercise its own involuntary relocation rights, the company said. TMI also wants “timely disclosure” of financial data since it must bear a pro rata share of Nextel BAS relocation costs. Quarterly reports to the FCC on Nextel’s progress in relocating BAS stations, plus related financial data, are “essential for TMI to make informed decisions,” TMI said.

TMI “plans to meet with the FCC staff and hopes the staff will bring the 2 GHZ parties together with Nextel so that adequate data will be shared and they can work on a cooperative basis going forward,” TMI attorney Gregory Staple said. Industry members said cooperation between Nextel and MSS operators will be help keep BAS band clearance on schedule for everyone involved. If the process becomes contentious, it could bring more FCC oversight or appointment of a separate Transition Administrator, which could slow the process further, they said.

In a related squabble, TMI and TerreStar told the FCC in a joint filing they want Nextel’s right for reimbursement from MSS licensees to be cut off after Nextel’s 31.5-month BAS relocation period has run, not after the order’s 36-month term. The 800 MHz period’s start was delayed several times, so the reconfiguration period won’t really end until almost 48 months after the order was adopted, TMI said. Therefore the “true-up” period should end at 31.5 months to “prevent 2 GHZ MSS licensees from being saddled with an unfair and unintended contribution burden” in light of the delays, TMI/TerreStar said.

Nextel, which has been sorting out reimbursement eligibility issues with NAB, SBE, and MSTV (CD May 6 p8), said it wants the Commission to deny the MSS operators’ request and extend the full 36-month benchmark. “MSS licensees have no basis to object to this reimbursement obligation cut-off date, as they will clearly benefit from the relocation of BAS licenses,” Nextel said. Plus, they said, an earlier cut-off date could give MSS licensees “a perverse incentive to delay the initiation” of services they scheduled “simply to avoid the reimbursement obligation.”