Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) SAYS - No To The "SCAM PLAN" Again!

From: [email-masked]
Date: Fri, 07 May 2004 20:47:32 -0400

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) SAY'S - No To The "SCAM PLAN" Again!

800 MHz issue not slated for next week’s FCC meeting
By Heather Forsgren Weaver
May 07 12:33:00, 2004

WASHINGTON—Nextel Communications Inc. and the rest of the wireless world
will have to wait a bit longer.

The Federal Communications Commission late Thursday put out its agenda
for its meeting May 13 and again rules to
solve the public-safety interference problem in the 800 MHz band were
absent. It is now believed the FCC will release
the rules after voting in private.

The continuing delay meant that each side had more time to lobby, and
they did on Thursday, with Nextel filing a critique
of a spectrum appraisal filed by Verizon Wireless and Verizon, releasing
to the press a letter from a senator critical of
Nextel’s Consensus Plan.

The American Appraisal Associates said Verizon’s consultant, Kane Reece
Associates Inc., used faulty assumptions in
determining the value that Nextel would receive under the Consensus
Plan.

“Given the number of inaccurate financial assumptions and errors of
methodology of the Kane Reece analysis, we must
reject their valuation conclusions,” said Richard Billovits, American
Appraisal vice president and principal.

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), a frequent critic of the wireless
industry, urged the FCC not to give Nextel valuable
spectrum in the 1.9 GHz band.

“I write to express my concern about the FCC’s reported plans for
resolving the 800 MHz interference problem. I know
that the commission shares my view that public-safety communication must
be protected from interference resulting from
the use of telecommunication technology. However, the solution to that
problem should not needlessly disperse valuable
public spectrum when other alternatives exist,” wrote Schumer. “I am
also concerned that the spectrum Nextel is
seeking is a very valuable public resource. Particularly in this time of
growing deficits and rising costs of homeland
defense and fighting the war on terrorism, we cannot afford to give away
such valuable public resources.”

There are at least three different options on the official record.

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. It is supported by Nextel, the Industrial
Telecommunications Association representing
private-wireless interests, and some public-safety advocacy groups.

The FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau March 9 delivered its plan
to the commissioners. The staff proposal
closely tracks with the Consensus Plan, requiring Nextel to pay perhaps
billions more than the $850 million it said it
would pay as part of the rebanding agreement. Nextel would pay all of
the relocation costs plus the difference between
that amount and “fair-market value” of 10 megahertz of spectrum it seeks
in the 1.9 GHz band. The staff proposal
reportedly does not require Nextel to relinquish its 700 MHz and 900 MHz
spectrum.

The Balanced Approach Plan calls for timely resolution of interference
at the expense of the interferer, coupled with
technical rules, notification and coordination procedures to prevent new
interference. It has been pushed by the United
Telecom Council, which represents utilities, and until recently the
Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association.

Finally, 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 was completed. The
money would also be deposited in a third-party
trust fund with protections against bankruptcy. Nextel has publicly
rejected this proposal.

http://rcrnews.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?newsId=18015

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