The FCC Wireless Bureau will audit the operating status of certain site-specific licenses at 220-222 MHz. The bureau said the point was “to promote intensive use of the radio spectrum by updating and increasing the accuracy of the Commission’s licensing database” for: (1) Nonnationwide 5- channel trunked systems. (2) Nonnationwide data. (3) Nonnationwide “other.” The bureau said the audit excluded geographic area licenses granted in the 220 MHz auctions or 220 MHz licenses authorized for public safety, mutual aid or emergency medical services. Every covered licensee must certify its station hasn’t discontinued operations for one year or more. The bureau has conducted a similar audit of private land mobile radio station operators to identify licenses no longer in use. That effort involved Part 90 licensees with authorized facilities below 512 MHz and sought similar information on station operating status. The object of the efforts has been to update the FCC’s database of those licenses and return of spectrum in cases of cancellation or notification that the licenses no longer were needed. The bureau said that for the 220 MHz audit it would send letters to all licensees operating in those covered services the week of May 12, outlining information such as call signs. A licensee will receive only one audit letter for all of its covered authorizations if it has verified its address listing in the FCC’s Universal Licensing System by May 9. The bureau stressed that responding to the letters was mandatory, with an electronic submission required within 30 days of the audit letter. “Failure to provide a timely response may result in the Commission presuming that the station has been nonoperational for more than one year, and thus the license may be presumed to have automatically cancelled,” the bureau said. Failure to respond in time also could result in enforcement action, including fines, the bureau said.
LAS VEGAS -- What was billed as a regulatory face-off of FCC commissioners at the NAB convention Tues. didn’t disappoint as Comrs. Abernathy and Copps verbally tussled over the agency’s media ownership review. Abernathy was particularly upset by Copps’s insistence that more public comment was necessary for the Commission to reach a credible decision.
Although Mad Catz Interactive has been marketing emulator software for only one month in U.S., its executives are confident that GameShark brand name that company bought from Recoton for $5 million earlier this year (CED Jan 24 p3) will allow it to quickly become dominant player in category in U.S. But Datel Electronics -- company that made original GameShark-branded emulator software for Recoton’s now-defunct InterAct accessory div. (CED March 25 p1) -- is convinced that its years of experience in category will make it strong competitor.
A U.S. stance that particular frequencies don’t need to be identified for public protection and disaster relief at the upcoming World Radio Conference (WRC) 2003 could run into friction from administrations eager for greater specificity, several sources said. Amid Defense Dept. concerns over protecting 380-400 MHz, which NATO uses for global operations, the U.S. supports not locking in particular bands while encouraging countries and regions to consider harmonized spectrum for public protection and disaster relief. But European administrations propose that 380- 385/390-395 MHz be identified in a resolution as part of harmonized bands for that purpose, a European official said.
Outlining changes under examination in the FCC’s spectrum regulatory regime, Wireless Bureau Chief John Muleta in a speech Thurs. stressed spectrum access and flexibility but said such reforms couldn’t be viewed in a vacuum. Addressing the Land Mobile Communications Council (LMCC) annual meeting in Washington, Muleta said one challenge the bureau faced in contemplating changes teed up by last fall’s Spectrum Policy Task Force report was to assess “the applications that can ride on this spectrum and then make the access to spectrum available.”
The House again passed legislation that would limit the fees federal agencies could charge telecom companies that strung lines over federal lands. The proposed Reasonable Rights-of-Way Act (HR-762) would encourage broadband deployment by preventing federal agencies from charging inordinately high rates for rights-of-way (ROW) over federal land, supporters said. Bill sponsor Rep. Cubin (R-Wyo.) has said new fee schedules had resulted in sharp increases in ROW rent for telecom companies, which was discouraging broadband deployment in rural areas. A similar bill passed last year, but the Senate took no action. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce supported the bill, saying it would lead to more investment. “By clearing away the regulatory underbrush in the federal rights-of-way process, Congress is unlocking the doors to investment opportunities that will stimulate the national economy,” said Bill Kovacs, Chamber vp-technology affairs. The bill has been referred to the Senate Energy & National Resources Committee.
The state of Fla. petitioned the FCC for reconsideration of an order that set a schedule for migrating private land mobile radio service systems below 800 MHz to more-efficient narrowband technology. In the Feb. 25 order, the FCC had said its current approach of encouraging spectrum efficiency in those bands on equipment certification wasn’t enough by itself to spark a shift to more-efficient technology. Fla. raised concerns about the “potentially harmful consequences” to users of interoperability channels but lauded the FCC for moving toward more-efficient use below 512 MHz as the migration to narrowband technology moved ahead. Fla.’s challenge cited provisions that would bar any application for new operations using 25 kHz channels and any applications for changes that expanded an authorized contour if the bandwidth was greater than 12.5 kHz. The petition noted that many state and local govt. agencies now were licensed for interoperability channels and in the future might need to apply for new licenses or modifications. Those channels aren’t necessarily recognized nationwide, but in many cases have been in use for decades by “multiple agencies,” the state said. “These interoperability channels satisfy critical public safety needs throughout Florida in the frequency bands below 800 MHz, and in some instances, with our neighboring states, as well,” it said. “It would be inadvertent for state or local government agencies to allow licenses to expire when the stations are clearly in operation and are intended to remain so.” Under the order, applications for such channels would have to be resubmitted as “new” after they expired and would be subject to narrowband requirements after the 6-month period in the order, Fla. said. “Similarly, the expansion of existing interoperability radio systems would be subject to narrowband requirements after the 6-month window,” it said. The state asked the FCC to: (1) Allow an exemption, until Jan. 1, 2018, for new or modified applications on recognized interoperability frequencies. (2) Or grant a “broad waiver” for applications on interoperability channels. (3) Or give “favorable consideration” to waiver requests if accompanied by a letter of support justifying operations on bandwidths greater than 12.5 kHz. Such a letter would have to come from a govt. body that had purview over a state’s communications plan for the frequencies.
Applying E911 requirements to mobile satellite services (MSS) using the Inmarsat system is inappropriate, “the classic equivalent of trying to fit a square peg into a round hole,” Telenor Satellite Services said in reply comments to the FCC. MSS providers don’t meet E911 requirements, especially if the providers are using the Inmarsat system, Telenor said. Inmarsat customers generally use their terminals in maritime or aeronautical environments and the majority of those that use terminals over land are outside the U.S., the firm said. Domestic land mobile customers are a small percentage of total customers, Telenor said, and they generally use the service “where not even a cellular customer would have expectations of 911 service.” E911 service isn’t technically feasible with Inmarsat because even up-to-date terminals have the capability of pinpointing callers up to only a few thousand square miles, Telenor said. It said compliance would be a “huge expense” for a relatively small customer base and very few emergency calls, making the application of E911 requirements to Inmarsat MSS operators unjustifiable. Telenor said the Inmarsat system did have an emergency communications service, the Global Maritime Distress & Safety System, “a necessary and appropriate tool in the environment in which Inmarsat terminals are used.”
The Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS) is querying federal agencies as to what spectrum they use in an effort to assess which frequency bands will be moving to the new department, a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) spokesman said. FEMA is one of 22 agencies that make up DHS and is conducting the inventory on behalf of the department. While some agencies have been concerned that they may have to give up spectrum under the auspices of DHS, the spokesman described the exercise as the creation of a “knowledge base” of who has which frequencies.
NTIA Dir. Nancy Victory said last week that the agency planned to focus on the spectrum efficiency of govt. users, including examining how those operators were using their bands and potential receiver standards. In a speech to the Latin American Wireless Industry Assn. at the CTIA Wireless 2003 show, Victory said NTIA would conduct a study of current and future use of federal land mobile spectrum in the Washington/Baltimore area. “Based on this use, NTIA will identify the technical improvements or changes via technology, spectrum management practices and/or standards to increase effectiveness of spectrum use and spectral efficiency,” Victory said: “If this approach works, NTIA’s efforts would be expanded to the remainder of the land mobile radio services and other radio services, as well.” She said NTIA also would assess whether certain market-based spectrum policies that had worked for private sector bands could be applied to the govt. to encourage efficient use. One question is whether secondary leasing options could be made available to govt. licensees to allow them to lease a portion of their spectrum in nonemergency situations and recover it in the event of an emergency, Victory said. A similar concept is raised in the FCC’s Spectrum Policy Task Force report on the possibility of public safety users’ being able to lease spectrum to other operators in nonemergency periods as long as a system was in place for that capacity to revert automatically to public safety when needed. Victory also stressed the importance of spectrum rights on interference protection, another hot topic of the Commission’s task force on the private sector. “Right now there is no standard formula or methodology for determining levels of acceptable interference,” Victory said. That often makes negotiating new sharing situations contentious, she said. “This year, NTIA plans to begin identifying the interference protection criteria for various radio services,” she said. If that works, NTIA would consider adopting the chosen interference protection criteria standards into its rules and regulations. “We would also encourage the FCC to adopt these new standards where applicable,” she said. Victory said NTIA hoped to investigate the idea of receiver standards. “To the extent that a receiver is more robust, it has the potential to reduce interference and increase sharing,” she said. “Here again, we will be considering inclusion of these standards in NTIA’s rules and regulations if doing so will mitigate interference, be practical and be cost effective,” she said.