The Wireless Communications Assn. and other groups want technical changes in an FCC broadband radio service (BRS) and educational broadband service (EBS) order, they said in filings to the FCC. The Commission approved the order to promote wireless broadband in spectrum once reserved for educational broadcast. The WCA filing was unsurprising, since the group has said since the order was released that changes are needed (CD May 1 p 3).
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
The FCC should make available to critical infrastructure industries (CII) 700 MHz spectrum Nextel used to use as a guard band, United Telecom Council and Motorola said. The spectrum was returned in the 800 MHz rebanding proceeding. “Nextel’s 40 returned 2+2 MHz geographic-area licenses represent a significant, though not nationwide, portion of the guard band spectrum,” UTC and Motorola said: “The need for protection from adjacent channel interference remains, especially as public safety moves to more intensive use of its 700 MHz spectrum. With its use of equipment and applications very similar to those of public safety, CII would make ideal tenants of this spectrum, protecting public safety operations through use of compatible systems.” Utilities need spectrum for interoperable communications, the letter said: “Rapid and safe restoration is a primary goal of all utilities, and they rely heavily on their internal communications networks to carry out this goal.” CII encompasses railroads and natural gas pipelines. “I don’t think this will be wildly controversial,” said a source backing making the spectrum available to CII users. “We understand that public safety is basically in support [of the proposal by UTC and Motorola], and there is a real need to protect their spectrum. That’s part of what makes this an elegant solution. The only possible competition for the spectrum we know of are broadband providers, who'd like to change the rules for all the 700 MHz spectrum, to convert it to a broadband swath for commercial and noncommercial users.”
The FCC Enforcement Bureau asked for additional information from a handful of wireline and wireless carriers, as it deepens its investigation of whether the carriers properly protected customer proprietary network information (CPNI), sources said Wed. A regulatory lawyer said the bureau sent follow-up requests for information to 5 wireline and 5 wireless carriers. The FCC has yet to cite a carrier for substantial violations of its CPNI rules since it began its probe of how “pretexters” get and sell phone records on the Internet.
Only about half of U.S. counties have E-911 Phase II capability, NENA said in documents filed this week at the FCC. Nationwide, 74.5% of counties have Phase I capability. NENA, which did a survey using a Dept. of Transportation grant, said it would cost $335 million to extend Phase II to all areas.
Applicants for the Aug. advanced wireless services auction (AWS) are being grilled by FCC staffers analyzing short form applications, said lawyers representing applicants. That may reflect a mandate for more scrutiny of would-be bidders, such as whose dollars are behind designated entities (DEs). But the interrogations’ origins aren’t certain. Nor is it clear whether they mean applicants face a higher bar.
The FCC Thurs. cited data broker LocateCell for “willfully or repeatedly” violating Commission rules by refusing to hand over information the FCC sought through subpoena. The agency issued a $97,500 notice of apparent liability against the company, the highest possible penalty under Commission rules for a nonregulated company. Enforcement Bureau officials said after the meeting that other data brokers have refused to comply with subpoenas and could be subject to similar forfeitures. Enforcement Bureau Chief Chris Monteith said the FCC’s message is clear: “Disregarding a lawfully issued subpoena and therefore compromising our authority… we are not going to tolerate.”
Legal uncertainty continues to hang over the advanced wireless services (AWS) auction, scheduled to start in less than a month, with Council Tree’s case still before the 3rd U.S. Appeals Court, Philadelphia. Attorneys who follow DE issues said the court is unlikely to eventually overturn the auction but anxiety remains among the hundreds of potential bidders, especially given the Supreme Court’s 2002 NextWave decision overturning a 1996 auction.
The FCC and NTIA face an uphill fight finding spectrum suitable for opening separate 10 MHz test beds -- a long- stalled recommendation by a June 2004 presidential report on U.S. spectrum policy, sources said Tues. FCC and NTIA may have to offer an alternative program permitting studies but not the kind of test bed the report envisioned, sources said.
A company owned by Mario Gabelli filed a short-form application to bid in the Aug. advanced wireless services (AWS) auction, according to records made available by the FCC on its website. Gabelli plans to participate in the auction as a backer of Lynch AWS Corp. The records provide ownership information on 252 companies filing short-form applications to participate in the auction.
The Dept. of Homeland Security missed a deadline to tell Congress how to meet needs in public safety communication, including interoperable modalities. The report was due June 20, a date reflecting a 6 months-plus extension. Congress told DHS to report in the 2004 Intelligence Reform Act. The report, originally due Dec. 17, was to accompany an FCC report on public safety use of 700 MHz spectrum, which the Commission sent Congress in Dec. (CD Dec 22 p2).