The Wireless Communications Assn. (WCA) countered the arguments of WCS Wireless, which sought a waiver of the wireless communications service (WCS) power limits in the 2.3 GHz band as part of proposed merger of WCS Wireless License Subsidiary with XM Radio. WCS Wireless had asked the FCC to dismiss WCA’s “unfounded and wholly speculative concerns” and grant the waiver. But the trade group said WCS Wireless’s response to merger oppositions filed by WCA (CD Aug 22 p9) “cannot deny that grant of its waiver request will subject other WCS licensees to a 6 dB increase in adjacent channel interference.” WCA said contrary to WCS Wireless claims, the company “has never conducted any field trials in which the potential for interference to an adjacent WCS licensee has been evaluated.” WCA also countered WCS Wireless claims that it still planned to implement its datacasting plan using WCS spectrum: “How, pray tell, is WCS Wireless going to be implementing its datacasting plan when WCS Wireless has decided to transfer control over WCS Wireless License Subsidiary -- which holds the WCS licenses -- to XM?… It is now incumbent upon XM to demonstrate why it requires” the waiver.

The FCC Mon. posted 2 GHz comments filed after our Tues. deadline that included submissions by CTIA, T- Mobile, Sprint Nextel, Sirius, Inmarsat, Globalstar and SkyTerra (CD Aug 17 p4). CTIA again argued that Mobile Satellite Services (MSS) licensees TMI/TerreStar and ICO haven’t proven they need more spectrum. And because the MSS licensees have said they would use the extra spectrum they seek for terrestrial ATC operations, CTIA said, the FCC should reallocate spectrum to terrestrial use and auction it: “Reallocating abandoned spectrum to flexible, terrestrial use and making the spectrum available at auction avoids unjust enrichment, creates a level playing field, and ensures the spectrum will be put to its highest and most effective use for the benefit of the public.” Further, CTIA said, the spectrum should be reallocated because it should be made available to systems that are operational; the MSS systems vying for it won’t be operational until 2007 and 2008. Sprint Nextel agreed, saying competitive bidding is the answer to the question of what to do with the extra 13.3 MHz of spectrum: “Market forces, not government regulators, will best decide what services consumers want.” Sprint Nextel also said the spectrum shouldn’t go to the MSS licensees for the homeland security reasons they've offered: “TMI does not explain what these homeland security wireless applications are, when -- if ever -- it will deploy them, or how these services would differ from the low-cost and extensive suite of services that commercial terrestrial carriers offer today without billions of dollars in new spectrum subsidies.” T-Mobile said it needs the spectrum to be a competitive wireless provider. In the last year, the ranks of nationwide wireless providers have shrunk from 6 to 4, T-Mobile said: “In an environment of increasing wireless consolidation, mid-sized and smaller wireless providers such as T-Mobile need additional spectrum to effectively compete in the mobile telephony market.” T-Mobile said the 2 GHz spectrum would be ideal for Advanced Wireless Services (AWS), since it could be used “easily in conjunction with the J block (or other PCS/AWS bands) or on a stand-alone basis.” MSS competitor Inmarsat said it’s well-qualified to deploy a 2 GHz MSS system, and that the commission should have at least 3 MSS competitors at 2 GHz. Providing for 3 MSS competitors instead of 2 would “ensure that the MSS industry will have the opportunity to play a vital role in the wireless broadband revolution,” Inmarsat said. MSS competitor Globalstar also said it wants to deploy a 2 GHz system, again asking for an FCC decision on the status of its 2 GHz application, which it said was “erroneously cancelled” in 2003. Sirius said MSS and terrestrial wireless both have enough spectrum to satisfy current demand. The commenters “fail to present a public interest reason to bestow additional spectrum to any mobile telephony service,” Sirius said, declaring it would use the spectrum for video and broadband offerings and telematics. SkyTerra, with ownership interests in TerreStar, and ICO advocated granting the 2 GHz spectrum in its entirety to ICO and TMI/TerreStar.

The FCC approved the acquisition of Nextel by Sprint Wed., without requiring any divestitures in individual markets but with a more significant condition on 2.5 GHz spectrum than expected. The action came after the 2 companies committed a day before to service implementation milestones. The companies had agreed to offer service within 6 years in the 2.5 GHz band to at least 30 million Americans in at least 20 BTAs, at least 2 of which are rural communities outside the nation’s top 200 most populous BTAs.

Demand is certainly high for 24 MHz of mobile satellite service (MSS) spectrum at 2 GHz, at least based on filings at the FCC in its proceeding (IB 05-221). Despite the fact that the MSS spectrum is available because 3 MSS firms gave up their licenses rather than launch service, at least a dozen major firms filed comments in the proceeding -- all indicating that the spectrum should be made available to them.

An FCC vote on the proposed Sprint-Nextel merger is expected as soon as this week, after the 2 companies committed Tues. to certain service implementation milestones in the 2.5 GHz band and provided details on the spin-off of Sprint’s incumbent local telephone operations, several sources said. FCC Comr. Adelstein has worked with the 2 companies to secure the 2 commitments, a knowledgeable source said.

Media Access Project (MAP) backed a recent request by an alliance of 6 groups licensed to operate EBS systems that the FCC impose conditions on the proposed Sprint- Nextel merger to ensure diversity in control over 2.5 GHz spectrum. “Sprint and Nextel have already used their superior size and market power to impose terms on small EBS licensees that compromise the educational nature of the EBS band,” MAP said, referring to the evidence submitted by the ITFS/2.5 GHz Mobile Wireless Engineering & Development Alliance (IMWED) in a July 11 filing. “Because Sprint/Nextel would be one of only 3 remaining significant national leasers of EBS band service, it is rational to expect that they will exert considerable influence over EBS licensees who are, generally, smaller and less sophisticated,” it said. MAP stressed the importance of addressing the 2.5-GHz issue in the context of the merger, rather than in a separate proceeding, to “insure the independence of the EBS operators” in markets where Sprint and Nextel control significant EBS spectrum. As part of the merger approval, MAP urged the FCC to bar Sprint and Nextel from: (1) Having lease terms longer than the license term. (2) Including automatic renewal provisions or other terms curbing EBS licensees’ negotiating power at expiration of the license. (3) Including “purchase option” provisions if the FCC lets EBS licensees sell or permanently lease licenses. (4) Requiring EBS licensees to lease the maximum spectrum permitted under Commission rules, and (5) Preventing EBS licensees from reclaiming spectrum for educational use in compliance with Commission rules. MAP said the FCC should require Sprint and Nextel to conform existing and future lease contracts with EBS licensees to the proposed conditions. Sprint and Nextel also should be required to file copies of leases with EBS licensees with the FCC, which should make them publicly available, it said. The FCC should have an expedited process for resolving EBS licensee complaints, MAP said. Separately, SouthernLINC Wireless again urged the FCC to require the merged Sprint/Nextel to “provide voice, data and digital dispatch roaming on reasonable, non-discriminatory terms and conditions and to make such roaming available for all services at reasonable and non-discriminatory rates.”

The U.S. Appeals Court, D.C., upheld an FCC decision to auction terrestrial multichannel video distribution and data service (MVDDS) licenses in the primarily satellite 12 GHz band. In Northpoint vs. the FCC, the Court denied challenges to new FCC regulations, which: (1) Allow terrestrial MVDDS to share the 12.2-12.7 GHz bandwidth spectrum with direct broadcast satellite (DBS) TV services. (2) Allow the FCC to auction MVDDS use of that spectrum. DirecTV, Satellite Bcstg. & Communications Assn., EchoStar and SES Americom said use of terrestrial service use of the DBS frequency would cause too much interference. Northpoint, which claimed credit for inventing MVDDS technology, said it should get the frequencies rather than the FCC allocating them by auction.

TMI said Nextel needs to share more data and firm up proposed relocation dates so 2 GHz licensees don’t enter blindly into a Broadcast Auxiliary Service (BAS) mess when they launch Mobile Satellite Service (MSS) in the band in 2006 and 2007. The BAS band (1990-2025 MHz) overlaps the 2 GHz Mobile Satellite Service (MSS) band (2000-2020 MHz) in which TMI/TerreStar and ICO Satellite Services are authorized to operate. The firms say they will launch S- band MSS systems offering voice and data communications in N. America. The MSS ventures, potentially aided by ATC ground repeaters, are the latest incarnation -- some might say “resurrection” -- of mobile satellite communications, which generally have failed. TMI/TerreStar is one of at least 4 companies that have announced intentions to launch ATC-enabled MSS systems in the 2 GHz swath of the S-band or the L-Band following the FCC’s Feb. loosening of the ATC rules (CD Feb 28 p24).

The FCC asked Sprint, Nextel and other commercial wireless carriers against which the firms compete for more information. As part of its review of the proposed Sprint-Nextel merger, the FCC sent identical letters to the applicants, plus Alltel, Western Wireless, Nextel Partners, Cingular Wireless, Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile USA and Southern LINC. The FCC requested a description and subscriber count for each mobile wireless price plan offered by the companies in each county of the U.S. for each month from Jan. 1, 2004, to Jan. 31, 2005.

In what some observers described as a “very straightforward” oral argument, a panel of federal appeals court judges considered Mon. whether the FCC should reinstate the NorthPoint MVDDS license application in the 12 GHz spectrum. The judges focused on 2 issues highlighted in the NorthPoint Technologies v. FCC case: (1) Whether MVDDS providers would cause interference to incumbent DBS operators. (2) Whether MVDDS licenses should have been allocated to terrestrial providers, rather than auctioned.