Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Muleta: Both Rebanding, Technical Fixes Might Be Best 800 Mhz Band Solution

From: [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 17 Dec 2003 18:45:13 -0500

Muleta: Both Rebanding, Technical Fixes Might Be Best 800 Mhz Band Solution

Paul Kirby, TR Daily 

December 4, 2003

A combination of rebanding and technical solutions might be the best way to
address commercial interference to public safety spectrum users in the 800
megahertz band, John B. Muleta, chief of the FCC's Wireless Telecommunications
Bureau, said today.

"I don't think that the answer is simply . . . technical solutions vs.
rebanding. I think it's probably somewhere in the middle," he said during a
telecom conference sponsored by Charles Schwab Capital Markets' Washington
Research Group. But he added, "It's too early for, at least anybody at my level,
to conclude that we're going one direction or another of how we solve this
problem." He said the Commission hoped to issue a report and order in the
proceeding during the first quarter of next year.

Under a "consensus plan" backed by Nextel Communications, Inc., many private
wireless operators, and major public safety groups, the 800 MHz band would be
realigned to separate public safety operations from commercial licensees. Nextel
would pay $850 million to retune or relocate public safety and private wireless
operators and get 10 MHz of spectrum in the 1.9 gigahertz band in exchange for
frequencies it would return in the 700 MHz, 800 MHz, and 900 MHz bands.

A coalition that includes Nextel's competitors, the Cellular Telecommunications
& Internet Association, and the United Telecom Council has proposed an
alternative plan that relies on the use of "best practices," technical rule
changes, and greater flexibility for licensees to swap frequencies. Meanwhile,
Motorola, Inc., says radar receiver design advancements and the use of best
practices could alleviate most of the interference without rebanding.

"Clearly one of the issues that we're struggling with is what if the costs
exceed" what Nextel has pledged, Mr. Muleta said. "We need to address that" if
the Commission decides to adopt the consensus plan proposal. Another issue
regarding the consensus plan is whether Nextel should receive all of the 1.9 GHz
spectrum it receives in return for the frequencies it returns, he said. He said
that issue is drawing more attention with recent filings on the value of the 1.9
GHz spectrum.

An analysis released by Verizon Wireless in October estimated that the consensus
plan would give Nextel a windfall of $6.5 billion. The analysis estimated that
the fair market value of the spectrum Nextel seeks is about $8.45 billion, while
the value of the spectrum it would relinquish is $1.26 billion.

But a Nextel-commissioned study released last month concluded that the proposal
"provides a fair and equitable spectrum exchange for all affected parties." The
study said that opponents of the plan overestimate the value of the 1.9 GHz
spectrum and underestimate the value of the frequencies that Nextel has offered
to return. It estimated the value of Nextel's spectral and financial
contribution at $4.6 billion and the value of the 1.9 GHz band frequencies at
$3.5 billion. 

http://www.consensusplan.org/plugin/template/consensus/21/1605

or 

http://www.tr.com/tronline/trd/2003/td120303/td120303-08.htm

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