Subject: [NEXTEL-1] New proposals offer 800 MHz hope, but don't expect a quick decision]

From: [email-masked]
Date: Fri, 07 May 2004 16:38:54 -0400

MRT's Wavelengths 

New proposals offer 
800 MHz hope, not a quick decision 

By Donny Jackson
May 7, 2004 

After almost two years of studying a single rebanding 
plan designed to address interference at 800 MHz, the 
Federal Communications Commission recently received 
two new proposals in consecutive business days. 

Both submittals include components that indicate all 
interested parties are coming closer to an agreement. 
While it's good the FCC now has more options before it, 
giving regulators choices means deliberation, so don't 
expect an order for weeks. 

On the surface, that has to be discouraging to public-safety 
officials, who have been hearing for months that the FCC 
was on the verge of making a decision. But public safety 
should be encouraged that the latest proposals offer a 
chance -- albeit a slim one -- that the FCC might be able 
to come up with something that could result in rebanding 
being completed quicker than it would have if the Consensus 
Plan had been adopted a couple of months ago. 

Remember, an order that lands in court does little for 
public safety, which likely would get no relief from 800 MHz 
interference during the couple of years the judicial system 
would spend deciding whether the FCC can award spectrum 
without an auction, as is called for in the Consensus Plan. If 
a court ruled against the FCC on the matter -- and it's very 
possible -- we're back to square one. 

Keeping this out of court is crucial, and it didn't seem possible 
as long as Verizon Wireless and CTIA continued to maintain 
they would litigate any spectrum award to Nextel. But both 
groups backed off that stance last week, acknowledging they 
would not take an award of 2.1 GHz spectrum to court (they 
also all but abandoned their previous position that technical 
remedies could solve the problem). 

Of course, Nextel doesn't want 2.1 GHz airwaves, because 
they would be too costly to use -- so much so, that the carrier 
turned around the next business day and announced its 
willingness to shell out an additional $500 million to relocate 
broadcasters from the 1.9 GHz spectrum it covets. That would 
free up an additional 10 MHz of spectrum in that band the FCC 
could then auction. 

True, there's still no clear agreement -- Verizon implies it may 
litigate an award of 1.9 GHz spectrum, and Nextel cites its 
shareholders' interests as the reason for opposing 2.1 GHz 
airwaves. But this is progress, because the parties finally are 
acknowledging publicly that the debate is not about finding the 
best way to help public safety - everyone agrees on the need 
for that - or maintaining the sanctity of spectrum auction laws. 

It's about money. Public safety doesn't want to pay any; 
Congress would like to get some from a spectrum auction to 
help the budget; Nextel wants to spend as little as possible 
to enter the high-speed wireless data market; and Verizon/CTIA 
want to make sure Nextel doesn't get to enter that high-stakes 
game with a penny ante. 

The FCC is left with the responsibility of trying to "thread the
needle," 
as one analyst put it, by issuing an order that will appease all
parties. 

It won't be easy. Should the FCC award 2.1 GHz spectrum to Nextel, 
it would limit the legal challenges to an order. However, because 
there's no equipment ready made for 2.1 GHz, there's no question 
that the spectrum is less valuable than 1.9 GHz airwaves. Would it be 
valuable enough for Nextel to cover the entire cost of rebanding? 
That's questionable. 

Should the FCC choose to award Nextel spectrum at 1.9 GHz, there 
should be plenty of money to reband 800 MHz and relocate broadcasters 
from 1.9 GHz (an aside -- wouldn't it be nice if the same could said for 
700 MHz?), opening a new auction opportunity. But that opens the door 
to litigation from Verizon, the one cellular competitor in a position to
take 
such action. 

For Nextel, it comes down to a difficult choice: Pay big money 
($3 billion to $5 billion) for 1.9 MHz spectrum, knowing that affordable 
equipment is readily available but that litigation would delay --
perhaps 
negate -- the buildout of the high-speed network it covets; or, accept 
the award of 2.1 GHz spectrum that calls for less upfront cost and
little 
legal risk, knowing that equipment choices for a high-speed data network 
would be limited, delayed and ultimately much more expensive. 

Nobody knows how this will turn out, but it promises to be interesting. 
Let's just hope no first responders or civilians are killed or seriously 
injured while policymakers try to figure it out. 

E-mail me at djackson @ primediabusiness.com  

http://enews.primediabusiness.com/enews/mobileradiotech/mrt_bulletin/2004_may_7_572004/view.html

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