WASHINGTON-Many specialized mobile radio operators, convinced-though not supportive-of Federal Communications Commission plans to auction 800 MHz wide-area licenses, are trying to salvage concessions for existing systems forced to relocate frequencies.
The FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, which outlined its latest proposal to industry last month, is expected to adopt new 800 MHz SMR rules in November.
The rulemaking has created a major schism in the SMR industry between small and large operators. Small SMRs believe the rule changes being considered mostly benefit the nation’s biggest service provider, Nextel Communications Inc.
Nextel, for its part, claims regulatory reform mandated by Congress is necessary for SMRs to compete with other commercial wireless carriers, like cellular and personal communications services companies.
“The bureau’s plan will not result in an auction of spectrum, as suggested, but an auction of property rights, collected and bundled for the sole purpose of providing-via auction-an opportunity for one competition class of operators to gain an unfair advantage over another class of operators,” a large group of SMR operators told the FCC.
Under the agency initiative, the upper 200 channels of 800 MHz SMR spectrum would be auctioned in blocks of 120, 60 and 20 channels for wide-area licenses in basic economic areas (BEAs) rather than in major trading areas, as originally proposed.
A one-year voluntary and two-year mandatory negotiation period would govern relocation of existing SMRs from the upper 200 channels to lower 800 MHz channels.
The 150 general category channels in the 800 MHz band would be redesignated for SMR licensing only. Some in industry dispute the FCC’s claim that most general category channels are used by SMRs.
The FCC also is considering turning the lower 80 SMR channels at 800 MHz (which may house SMRs relocated from the upper 200 channels) and the 150 general category channels into entrepreneur blocks for bidding by small businesses.
The American Mobile Telecommunications Association, the largest SMR trade group, has recommended a “Bill of Rights” for incumbents.
Wide-area licensees must identify comparable spectrum and must be responsible for all reasonable costs of relocation, such as engineering, site, legal, and equipment replacement where necessary.
Wide-area licensees should be required to notify incumbents of their intent to relocate the incumbent sufficiently prior to retuning to minimize disruption to the incumbent’s system and customers.
Wide-area licensees should not be permitted to selectively retune the incumbent channels they wish to clear, but should be required to relocate all of the incumbent’s channels within their licensed BEA channel block (this provision could be waived should the parties agree to other arrangements).
Comparable spectrum must include the same number of channels, the same or a superior coverage area, and intra-system channel separation and co-channel separation comparable to that being retuned.
Relocated incumbents should be provided 70-mile co-channel protection on the new channels wherever possible. Further, relocated incumbents should not be subject to further short-spacing of their systems in the future.
Relocated incumbents should be exempt from any future relocation.
The Personal Communications Industry Association, which questions the FCC’s authority to sell SMR spectrum, limited its written comments to ensuring that new 800 MHz wide-area licensing rules protect existing licensees. PCIA suggested it may appeal 800 MHz SMR auction rules in court.
