Wireless Communications Assn. International (WCA) is opposing petition for reconsideration filed by Satellite Industry Assn. (SIA) on 2.5 GHz that Multipoint Distribution Service (MDS) and Instructional TV Fixed Service (ITFS) licensees use. SIA petition argued that fixed wireless incumbents in 2.5 GHz could share bands with mobile satellite service (MSS). But WCA contended SIA had presented no technical information to Commission on how that could be done. Earlier this year, FCC denied another petition by SIA seeking reallocation of 2.5 GHz band to MSS licensees based on previous ITU decision. “SIA’s petition for reconsideration provides no justification for the Commission to now reverse field and cripple the ongoing deployment of MDS/ITFS broadband service solely to provide additional spectrum for the financially shipwrecked MSS industry,” WCA wrote. WCA said SIA relied on “mistaken” assumption that MDS/ITFS licensees would be deployed mostly in urban areas, away from MSS operations in less densely populated areas. “The Commission has already found that MDS/ITFS systems may be the only provider of broadband service in rural and other underserved areas,” WCA said.
Telergy and group of affiliated companies seek FCC exempt telecom company status for each under Public Utility Holding Company Act. Telergy companies directly or through respective telephone operating subsidiaries provide facilities-based integrated broadband telecom services and fiber capacity throughout U.S., primarily in Northeast. Companies will use conduits, facilities and right-of-ways purchased from Consolidated Edison, Jersey Central Power & Light, Metropolitan Edison, Niagara Mohawk Power, Pa. Electric, others.
Qwest turned to General Accounting Office (GAO) for relief last week after losing agency-level protest at General Services Administration (GSA) over bridge contract for FTS 2001 program. Qwest filed protest with procurement law control group of GAO over most recent extension contracts awarded to AT&T and Sprint, incumbent bidders for original FTS 2000. Qwest had filed challenge at GSA in Dec. (CD Dec 18 p2), contending sole-source interim contracts carried rates that on average were 25% higher than those for original FTS 2000 contract and that GSA should have bid work competitively. Interim contracts were awarded in Dec. after GSA missed target for shifting federal agency telecom traffic to FTS 2001 awarded to Sprint and WorldCom from old FTS 2000. Qwest raised same concerns with GAO last week as it did in GSA agency protest. Agency protest official Donald Suda said GSA decision not to seek competitive bids for interim contract was business judgment, upholding GSA decision. Qwest told GAO its protest was based on contentions that: (1) GSA violated procedural mandates of Competition in Contract Act (CICA) and Federal Acquisition Regulation. Qwest argued GSA didn’t prepare justification document for deciding not to seek competitive bids until after contracts were awarded. (2) Agency couldn’t justify sole-source awards on basis of “unusual and compelling urgency” because it knew for at least 4 months beforehand that more service coverage under FTS 2000 would need to be awarded. “Yet it failed to conduct any planning for such a procurement,” Qwest said. (3) GSA failed to demonstrate prices in bridge contract extensions were fair and reasonable. Because CICA requires this demonstration, GSA’s action “renders the bridge contracts voidable.” In particular, Qwest took aim at GSA arguments that company couldn’t provide national long distance service under federal telecom contract because it didn’t yet have FCC approval to provide interLATA services in former U S West region. “GSA’s position misses the central point: Qwest is permitted to team with a long distance provider capable of providing service in Qwest’s ‘in-region’ territory and thus submit a proposal fully responsive to GSA’s requirements,” Qwest told GAO. Qwest Govt. Systems Div. Senior Vp James Payne said Fri. company disputed GSA’s characterization of company’s compliance with Sec. 271. Teaming arrangement could have been made with contract partner for states in which long distance approval hadn’t been received yet, he said. “To say that ‘you are not allowed to provide services in all 50 states,’ that is going way beyond the rules of the FCC,” Payne said. “It’s bad policy.” GSA wasn’t available for comment.
FCC seeks comment on Qwest application to discontinue telecom facilities in 38 Ariz. exchanges. Qwest said it would transfer 38 exchanges to Citizens Utilities Rural Co. as part of sale between 2 companies. Collectively, 38 exchanges serve 158,000 access lines, with 300 physically located in Utah. Application said planned transfer would have no known effect on service provided in those exchanges. Comments are due April 13.
NTIA expressed concerns last week to FCC that without appropriate safeguards in proposal for use of software defined radio (SDR), “this flexibility may lead to unauthorized spectrum usage.” NTIA submitted comments on notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) adopted by FCC (CD Dec 8 p1) that would streamline equipment approval processes. SDR technology allows wireless phones to receive intelligence from software rather than hardware, meaning radios can be changed quickly to transmit on different frequencies and in different formats. NPRM proposes SDR definition as transmitter for which operating parameters, including frequency range and modulation type, could be altered in software without making hardware changes. Proposal would streamline equipment certification procedures so that new operating parameters could be set via software without relabeling equipment already in field. NTIA said FCC had proposed that changes in frequency, power and modulation type of SDR could be authorized as new class of permissive change, called Class 3. FCC proposed that Class 3 permissive changes be made only to equipment in which no hardware changes have been made in original device. “NTIA does believe that, in order to verify that after the modifications authorized under a Class III permissive change, the SDR still remains compliant with the Commission’s operating and service rules… the combination of the hardware and the software modification must be reauthorized.” NTIA said proposal wasn’t clear on whether all possible combinations of installed software must be tested or whether it was sufficient to test each waveform separately. NTIA recommended that, in coordination with SDR industry, FCC examine security features that could be used to prevent unauthorized modifications that could change SDR compliance. SDR Forum said it backed NPRM and sought quick adoption of rules. As for tentative conclusion that radio software and hardware should be approved in combination, forum said that as technology advances, it might make sense to test them separately, Forum said. “Testing numerous versions of software with many versions of the underlying radio equipment could become burdensome,” Forum said, and combined testing would make sense until manufacturers and FCC had acquired more experience with technology. Among recommendations in its comments are that FCC: (1) Revise SDR definition to recognize software changes that affect both desired and undesired emissions and to permit hardware changes that don’t affect emissions of either type. (2) Not require declaration that radio is SDR at time of original equipment authorization. (3) State clearly that Class II permissive change is required only when undesired emission are degraded.
Wireless industry is watching closely final reports due Fri. from FCC and NTIA on potential spectrum that can be tapped for advanced wireless services, including 3G. Several sources have indicated they didn’t expect significant changes in FCC draft report issued last fall, which said segmenting and sharing in MMDS and ITFS bands to allow operations of advanced mobile services would pose technical challenges. One widely expected change is that final NTIA report will be much more inclusive than draft on interference concerns raised by Defense Dept. NTIA interim report last year had outlined potential spectrum sharing and segmentation opportunities in some cases between new wireless users and govt. incumbents. Serious challenge draft cited was sharing with uplink satellite control systems. But Pentagon sent letter to Commerce Secy. Donald Evans last month raising concerns that loss of access to spectrum beyond that relinquished by military in Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 and 1997 Balanced Budget Act “would jeopardize the DoD’s ability to execute its mission.” DoD is submitting report to NTIA for inclusion in final report. Letter to Evans says DoD report concludes that sharing 1755-1850 MHz isn’t possible “due to predictable, mutual interference over large geographic areas and major metropolitan centers.” Mitigating expected interference “would require unacceptable restrictions on military operations, training and readiness,” former Deputy Defense Secy. Rudy De Leon said. He told Evans that DoD report concluded that “regardless of financial investment,” Pentagon couldn’t vacate or segment band until at least 2010 for nonspace systems and at least 2017 for space systems. Those dates could stretch out to 2030 for some satellites, he wrote. DoD said that such conclusions were based on principle that DoD couldn’t accept any degradation of its mission capability as result of spectrum reallocation. “The 1755-1850 MHz band is indispensable to the defense of the United States and its allies,” DoD wrote. “Our nation’s armed forces would be at a substantial strategic and tactical disadvantage in combat and the execution of military operations could be jeopardized if the Department lost its use of the band.” “I think that they are viewing the DoD report as the basis of their report and they are going to follow it,” said one industry source of upcoming NTIA report. Industry, on other hand, has outlined scenarios in which segmentation and sharing are possible in band at least in short-term to mitigate interference issues. With both FCC and NTIA reports expected to focus on challenges to sharing in respective bands, attention in industry is turning to who in Bush administration will take most active role as FCC and NTIA negotiate, sources said. “As a matter of practical negotiation, FCC doesn’t hold many strong cards,” said Precursor Group analyst Rudy Baca. “FCC is asking NTIA/the government for some of their spectrum ‘please.’ The response is usually, ‘No, it’s ours and we need all of it.'” As result, it becomes more difficult to carry out simple negotiations between FCC and NTIA, when former lacks full complement of commissioners and latter doesn’t yet have permanent director, Baca said. “It is going to take someone higher up in the Administration -- maybe Secy. of Commerce Don Evans or somebody in the White House.” MG
Option B of EEO rules isn’t essential to FCC’s goal of ensuring that broadcasters “engage in broad outreach in recruiting new employees,” agency told U.S. Appeals Court, D.C., late Wed. in support of its petition for partial reconsideration of court order in dismissing rule “in its entirety.” In throwing out rules, court had said Option B “put official pressure on broadcasters to recruit minority candidates, thus creating a race-based classification that is not narrowly tailored to support a compelling government interest and is therefore unconstitutional” (CD Jan 17 p1). Just one work day after Commission sought partial consideration (CD March 5 p9), in unusual move court sought additional information from Commission.
Attorneys for FCC and Coalition for Noncommercial Media (CNM) squared off in U.S. Appeals Court, D.C., Thurs. over Western N.Y. Public Bcstg. Assn. (WNYPBA) plan to sell its 2nd noncommercial station to commercial broadcaster LIN TV for $26.2 million (CD Nov 9 p5). Washington-based CNM, which opposes conversion of PTV station to commercial broadcaster, is seeking to overturn Mass Media Bureau’s approval of that switch because move would leave Buffalo area without one of its 2 public stations. But FCC stoutly defended its approval as justified after dismissing 2 CNM counterproposals to preserve both stations as noncommercial entities. WNYPBA, which originally planned to sell station to Sinclair Bcst. Group, is pursuing sale to finance DTV conversion of its remaining station.
Young Bcstg asked FCC to impose sanctions on EchoStar in companies’ dispute over inability to reach retransmission agreement (CD March 7 p2). In earlier petition, EchoStar had accused Young of failing to negotiate in good faith, which Young denied. In its answer and request for sanctions, Young said it had complied with good-faith negotiations standards of FCC and hadn’t committed any violations. It said its conduct had been above board and it disputed allegations that it improperly exercised market power and hindered competition in MVPD market. EchoStar’s complaint, Young said, was based on series of misrepresentations of fact and law and should be summarily dismissed.
Research firm New Networks Institute (NII) asked FCC, N.Y. PSC and New York Attorney Gen.’s office to investigate findings by CWA that Verizon falsified service quality data and made other infractions. NII said neither FCC nor state regulators had followed up on Nov. 2000 union study of Verizon’s service quality reports. CWA study, submitted to N.Y. PSC as part of its oversight of Verizon’s alternative regulation plan, was based on experience of phone company workers.