Sirius Makes Move Toward Certainty Through WCS Agreement With AT&T
The deal between AT&T and Sirius XM on shared use of the 2.3 GHz band is a significant step for the satellite radio company’s interest in protecting its services from interference, telecom attorneys and analysts said. The companies filed a joint proposal last week confirming their agreement on conditions for allowing the wireless communications service (WCS) and satellite digital audio radio service (SDARS) to operate without posing an interference threat to satellite radio reception (CD June 19 p1). The deal brings certainty to Sirius around use of the C and D blocks adjacent to SDARS and the A and B blocks, industry officials said.
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It resolves “a very longstanding dispute and allows the spectrum to be put in place,” said communications lawyer Andrew Lipman of Bingham McCutcheon. The most significant benefit perhaps for Sirius “is it gives them a significant 5 MHz guard band around their SDARS service,” he said. Without separating the WCS mobile transmit and the satellite radio receive bands, the company has significant concerns “that filtering is not a practical solution for mitigating the impact of overload interference to satellite receivers,” the AT&T/Sirius filing said (http://xrl.us/bnb5h6). The companies proposed excluding mobile and portable broadband transmissions from operating in the C and D blocks. “Staking the C and D blocks and creating a guard band is attractive to Sirius,” Lipman said.
Sirius appears to be controlling its own future by cutting this deal, said Paul Gallant, Guggenheim Securities analyst. “Sirius has real overhang on this interference issue because they just don’t know what a future FCC might do, given the increasing demand for the agency to free up spectrum for wireless broadband.” This increasing pressure on the commission to reallocate frequencies for wireless broadband “might make it harder in the future for Sirius to expand its turf,” he said.
Sirius and AT&T proposed “a maximum design ground power level target of -44 dBm for base and fixed transmitters operating in the WCS A or B Blocks and -55 dBm for base and fixed transmitters operating in the C or D Blocks.” This proposal calling for a signal limit on WCS operations could be a sticking point for other WCS licensees, said an attorney watching the proceeding. “While AT&T agreed to the limit, other WCS licensees are still examining the proposals.” Sirius had no comment for this story.
Gaining certainty is likely the most important issue for Sirius, said satellite analyst Tim Farrar. “Perhaps Sirius perceives the risk that the FCC would do more to make WCS useful for the wireless players because the FCC has struggled in terms of its attempt to free up spectrum in other bands.” By reaching an agreement with AT&T, Sirius has “something that’s more to their liking than an FCC-imposed decision,” he said.