Neutral Tandem -- which accused Verizon Wireless of being the only major carrier it can’t do business with -- wants the FCC to order Verizon to provide direct connection to its system. Last week, Verizon Wireless asked the FCC to reject the petition. Neutral Tandem wants the Commission to “rescue an actor from the consequences of its choices” and “take the extraordinary step of reinstating a commercial contract… that has lawfully expired,” Verizon said.
Howard Buskirk
Howard Buskirk, Executive Senior Editor, joined Warren Communications News in 2004, after covering Capitol Hill for Telecommunications Reports. He has covered Washington since 1993 and was formerly executive editor at Energy Business Watch, editor at Gas Daily and managing editor at Natural Gas Week. Previous to that, he was a staff reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Greenville News. Follow Buskirk on Twitter: @hbuskirk
AT&T accused CTIA of trying to gain special privileges for wireless carriers, in its comments on a rulemaking released with the final report of the Independent Panel Reviewing the Impact of Hurricane Katrina on Communications Networks. AT&T also took issue with NENA’s contention that all 911 system service providers should be required to analyze the redundancy of their 911 networks and tell the FCC about possible gaps.
Designated entities (DEs) are playing a minuscule role in the advanced wireless services (AWS) auction as it enters its later stages. By value, only about 6% of winning bids were by DEs, with a large bid by DE Denali for one license accounting for almost half that. Through round 35 late Tues., total bids stood at $12.5 billion. Bids have been rising slowly -- just 0.69% for the round. To speed action, the FCC required Mon. that participants bid 95%, not 80%, of their bidding credits in opening stages -- forcing DEs to bid or shed eligibility.
The FCC should auction educational broadband service (EBS) white spaces spectrum well before 2010, when a sale is scheduled, the Wireless Communications Assn. (WCA) and others said in oppositions to petitions for reconsideration filed as part of that longstanding debate. Allies of WCA include the WiMAX Forum, NextWave Broadband and Sprint Nextel. They're opposed by the Catholic TV Network and National ITFS Assn., which urged the agency to proceed with caution.
A federal judge in N.Y. refused to grant class-action status in the remaining handset antitrust case brought against the major U.S. carriers on the grounds that they forced subscribers to buy handsets with features they don’t want and only in combination with cellular services.
The battle for the major regional licenses in the AWS auction appears close to its end, with bidding at a halt for those licenses in recent rounds - including the most valuable licenses of all, the 6 regional 20 MHz F block licenses. In the most recent bidding rounds, action has shifted from the 18 regional licenses to the smaller A, B and C blocks.
CellCast Communications says that, contrary to the arguments of carriers, most of the U.S. public could be reached with emergency messages using technology that requires only a small adjustment to their handsets. The small Houston-based firm has sold the technology to Einstein Wireless in Wis., which will soon use it to broadcast warnings to subscribers.
The 800 MHz Transition Administrator isn’t staking out a position on whether the entire 800 MHz transition can be completed in the 36 months allowed by the FCC. Questions arose last week at the Assn. of Public Safety Communications Officials annual meeting about whether the deadline can be met (CD Aug 9 p2). Brett Haan, dir. of the TA, responded to e-mailed questions this week about concerns raised at the APCO meeting. Haan said the decision whether to extend the deadline is in the hands of the Commission not the TA. “Ultimately any decision on the 36-month reconfiguration schedule is under the discretion of the FCC in their role defining the parameters of reconfiguration,” Haan said: “It is the role of the TA to take any and all action possible to meet the decisions made by the FCC.” Some officials at APCO told us that one slowdown in the transition has been that Sprint Nextel requires licensees to sign nondisclosure agreements in negotiating their frequency reconfiguration agreement (FRAs), so public safety systems can’t compare notes as they negotiate rebanding costs with vendors. Haan said the FRAs are between Sprint and licensees and not under the TA’s control. “The TA… does recognize the benefits of licensees having some level of basic details they can compare with each other,” he said: “Sharing of information between licensees enables licensees to have a better understanding of where they are and learn from their neighbors.” Haan also called on equipment vendors and consultants hired by public safety systems to keep their charges reasonable as they negotiate with public safety. “We know public safety’s plates are full!” he said. “For this reason, it is crucial that the consultants and vendors they rely on must make ensure reconfiguration costs are reasonable and prudent, and necessary for the licensee to maintain comparable facilities.” Haan said the TA has been open to advice from Sprint Nextel and public safety licensees on improving the program. “The TA has adjusted and refined the reconfiguration process and will continue to do so as opportunities for improvement continue to be identified,” he said. “The TA is well aware of the complexities of public safety systems and is continually gathering feedback from public safety leadership, licensees and other stakeholders and updating processes and procedures based on that input.”
FCC Chmn. Martin’s office has interviewed several outside candidates to head the new Public Safety & Homeland Security Bureau, agency and industry sources confirm. Thought to be in the running is Michael Amarosa, senior vp- public affairs at TruePosition, a vendor of wireless location technology. Amarosa, former deputy commissioner for technological development in the N.Y. City Police Dept., is well known in public safety.
Wireless DBS, the deep-pocketed partnership between DirecTV and Echostar, has effectively dropped out of the bidding in the advanced wireless services (AWS), as the auction has progressed more quickly than many had expected. Bids top more than $8 billion total. The DBS partnership has used all its waivers and stopped bidding.