Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Nextel To Become The Next NextWave

From: [email-masked]
Date: Sun, 02 May 2004 05:22:57 -0400

Nextel To Become The Next NextWave

By Rhonda Wickham,
Editor in Chief

May 1, 2004
Wireless Week

It's been seven long years since NextWave Telecom first bid on
PCS spectrum. After such a protracted state of limbo, it appears,
and we hold our breath, that the deal is done.

Waiting in the wings, however, is another spectrum issue that is
beginning to look as though it will replace the former limbo champ:
the Nextel Consensus Plan. (I can barely bring myself to call it that
as it now sounds almost like an oxymoron.) Nevertheless, sit back,
pop some popcorn and wait. And above all else, resist temptations
to believe this could be resolved this month, this year or before the
new decade.

For now, the FCC has registered its first ruling. Three of the five
FCC commissioners have indicated they would OK the outline of
Nextel's plan.

However, the commissioners are still undecided about how much
more Nextel should be required to pay and whether Nextel should
be relocated to the 2.1 GHz band, which is considered by some as
less valuable spectrum. Even though insiders suggest the FCC
could render its final decision in the next few weeks, it will be far
from over because fractures are beginning to appear.

Eleventh-hour objections from unexpected quarters are beginning to
pour in. For example, at press time, Sheila Hanna-Wiles, president
of the South Carolina chapter of APCO, fired a letter off to the FCC
saying the chapter had not been consulted regarding the so-called
Consensus Plan. "The South Carolina Chapter is . deeply concerned
that it appears the National Board . has become too closely aligned
with Nextel and has decided to circumvent the concerns of our local
chapter," Hanna-Wiles wrote.

Likewise, Philip Stittleburg, chairman of the National Volunteer
Council,
a non-profit membership association representing more than 800,000
members of U.S. volunteer fire, EMS and rescue services, sent a letter
expressing his deep concern regarding the financial implications. He
questioned whether Nextel's estimate for new radios and the modification

of communications was adequate and whether departments could bear
the financial burden while waiting for reimbursement. "Instead of
providing
the money upfront, Nextel proposes that local fire departments incur
these
costs and then apply for reimbursement through a Relocation Board.
This creates a tremendous burden on the local fire departments that are
already struggling to meet their financial commitments."

New York state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer also registered his
displeasure with the spectrum-swap plan. He urged the FCC to
require Nextel to increase the fee for the wireless spectrum it is
considering awarding to the carrier. "Nextel must be required to
compensate the United States Treasury for the spectrum it receives
in the amount that would have been received at an auction of that
spectrum," he reportedly wrote.

Also in from New York is a letter penned by New York's U.S.
Representative Ed Towns. He cited opposition from the Fraternal
Order of Police (FOP), an organization with more than 300,000
members. "The FOP is worried that the proposal would require
local police and fire departments to rely on a vague entity controlled
by a private company to be reimbursed." He also addressed the
infeasibility of the reimbursement scheme for costs associated
with adjusting communications systems.

Clearly, this is turning into just as much of a hot potato as the
NextWave
deal was back in its day. No doubt, the FCC commissioners want nothing
more than to work through this issue and get it off their desks. They
have
to be deeply troubled about the increasingly fractious nature of this
issue.

And just like the NextWave drama, there is no clear "right" answer, but
plenty of opportunities to take a "wrong" turn.

No matter what the commissioners' verdict is, they are merely teeing up
the ball for the raft of proponents, opponents, lawyers and concerned
and
interested parties to chip away at. No, even though we would like to
believe
the FCC's position will be the final word on this drama, it will not be
the
last of it for this industry. In fact, I am certain it will drag on for
some
time. oh, I imagine seven years sounds about right.

 http://www.wirelessweek.com/article/CA414485?spacedesc=Departments&stt=000