Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Adelstein, CTIA say Nextel late in raising 2.1 GHz concerns

From: [email-masked]
Date: Fri, 21 May 2004 18:39:47 -0400

Adelstein, CTIA say Nextel late in raising 2.1 GHz concerns
By Heather Forsgren Weaver
May 20 13:31:00, 2004

WASHINGTON—FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein Thursday morning said he
found Nextel Communications Inc.’s complaints about the 2.1 GHz band
unusual because the carrier did not raise relocation concerns when it
presented its first proposal to solve public-safety interference in the
800 MHz band in 2001.

“I would note that 2.1 (GHz) was not Verizon Wireless' initial idea, but
Nextel's, and it is unusual in light that it was Nextel's original idea
three years ago that they did not raise these concerns at that time,”
Adelstein told reporters at a regularly scheduled press breakfast. He
added that the Federal Communications Commission has relocation rules in
place to prevent “spectrum squatting.”

Nextel May 14 charged that the CTIA Compromise Plan to solve
public-safety interference in the 800 MHz band favors the association's
cellular members because they hold the licenses that would have to be
relocated for Nextel to make use of the 2.1 GHz band.

Adelstein’s view of the situation echoes a letter the Cellular
Telecommunications & Internet Association sent late Wednesday to the
FCC.

The 2.1 GHZ band is “subject to rigid relocation requirements originally
adopted by the FCC in 1993. This same framework was used to relocate
fixed microwave incumbents from the PCS band without any substantial
disagreements.  In fact, the only modification to the relocation rules
governing the 2.1 GHz band was a removal of the ‘voluntary’ negotiations
period, requiring all incumbent licensees to follow ‘mandatory’
negotiation requirements immediately. The rules require incumbent
licensees to negotiate in good faith with the new entrant or be subject
to commission review. If at the end of the two-year mandatory
negotiation period there is no agreement between the parties, Nextel
would be able to involuntary relocate any incumbent,” said CTIA.

And so it goes. Adelstein said the FCC was “moving smartly along” on the
issue but would not comment on whether the FCC would consider it at its
June 10 meeting.

Nextel is the major sponsor of the Consensus Plan. The Consensus Plan
would shuffle the 800 MHz band to eliminate the current situation where
public safety, private wireless, Nextel, other SMRs and cellular
carriers are intermingled. In exchange for giving up spectrum in the 700
MHz, 800 MHz and 900 MHz bands and for paying to retune public safety
and private wireless, Nextel has asked for 10 megahertz in the 1.9 GHz
band. The plan is also supported by the Industrial Telecommunications
Association, which represents private-wireless interests, and some
public-safety advocacy groups.  Other public-safety advocacy groups have
expressed concern about the Consensus Plan.

Late last month, CTIA said Nextel should pay $3 billion to cover the
rebanding costs of the 800 MHz band, but instead of getting spectrum in
the 1.9 GHz band, it should get spectrum in the 2.1 GHz band. Nextel
would get the 2.1 GHz spectrum as the retuning in the 800 MHz band is
completed. The money would also be deposited in a third-party trust fund
with protections against bankruptcy.

http://rcrnews.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?newsId=18187

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