WASHINGTON-Commenters on both sides of the issue regarding the Federal Communications Commission’s proposal to kill its finder’s preference programs have one thing in common-their arguments all come down to money.
Many of those who oppose the commission’s plan first to do away with the preference in the 220 MHz-222 MHz band and then to progress from there, including the dismissal of all pending applications, are small private operators that have been waiting more than two years for a preference application to be granted, even while applications filed after theirs have been approved. They have time, money and potential customers tied up in the wait.
Those who favor the FCC’s plan tend to be larger carriers like Nextel Communications Inc. and AirTouch Paging, wide-area commercial mobile radio service operators that have the cash and prior auction experience to benefit from a move away from finder’s preferences. To them, finder’s preferences will decrease the value of a wide-area license if and when geographic-area auctions begin.
Regarding the elimination of preferences in the 220 MHz-222 MHz band and beyond, the Personal Communications Industry Association supports such a plan for geographically licensed services but not for site-licensed services. PCIA pointed out that the finder’s preference program has helped the commission in its licensing efforts by putting the investigation and monitoring responsibilities on the potential licensee, and that it has cost the commission nothing while returning unused spectrum to service.
In light of that, PCIA opposed any attempt to cancel any pending preference filings, writing, “It is patently unfair for the commission to encourage the public to identify unconstructed systems, promising a preference for the effort and then dismiss the request because of the commission’s own failure to timely process the paperwork.” It also disagreed with the FCC’s premise that dismissed preference filers would have a fair chance at gaining these channels at auction, concluding, “Applicants with pending requests may not be able to economically compete for such licenses and may be unable to utilize the remaining channels in the allocation because of other incumbent licensees.”
Motorola Inc. supports the end of preferences in the 220 MHz-222 MHz band but supports its continuance in the 470 MHz-512 MHz, 800 MHz and 900 MHz bands for private land mobile services, including local government eligibles and others that could not afford to compete in an auction. To prevent the filing of speculative pleadings, Motorola suggested that the FCC “adopt safeguards prohibiting the assignment of any channels obtained through the use of a finder’s preference request for a period of two years or some other length of time.” The manufacturer also suggested a more stringent documentation process for those who file for preferences, including photos.
Like Motorola and PCIA, the Industrial Telecommunications Association supported ending 220 MHz-222 MHz finder’s preferences, but it continued to rally for preferences in the other bands used by private carriers, saying that geographic licensing and auctions will not resolve compliance and verification matters. And of the pending 527 finder’s-preference applications, ITA estimated that some 41 percent could be granted if the commission would just move ahead.
ITA also urged the commission to retain preferences in the private, non-SMR pools in the 800 MHz and 900 MHz bands. “Many of the SMR licensees who have accessed the private, non-SMR channels at 800 MHz will certainly attempt to use these non-SMR channels as post-auction `reservoirs’ for relocating stand-alone systems out of the spectrum designated for wide-area licensing,” ITA wrote. If the commission does not have the resources to devote to this program, ITA asks that frequency coordinators be empowered to perform the due diligence necessary to process preference applications.
SMR WON accused the commission of wanting to “clear the decks so that it may proceed with spectrum auctions without the baggage of numerous claimants for the frequencies to be auctioned, which may depress the amount auction participants will be willing to bid for the spectrum.” The association contended that all pending applications be granted or denied based on merit. “Anything less would be a violation of the basic principle that an agency’s rules should not be changed retroactively to the disadvantage of those who relied upon its then-effective rules,” the association wrote. “The affected applicants would rightfully seek relief, compounding the problem of cleaning up for the auctions.”
Of the many small-business people who responded to the commission’s notice, Philip Campau, chairman of Telecom Corp. in Jackson, Mich., stated the plight of smaller private carriers the most eloquently. “What ever happened to the FCC I began working with more than 40 years ago,” he wrote. “It seems today that there is more interest in seeing how much money can be gotten for the right to use the limited resource radio spectrum than in managing and enforcing rules that we already have.”
Like many others, Campau has been waiting three years for his preference application to be granted, even though he provided all data “by Federal Express,” and he has remained quiet for fear of rocking the regulatory boat. “Now, after exhausting much of my financial resources, I am being told that you might dismiss all SMR finder’s-preference applications,” he wrote. “This just isn’t right … What we do not need is a commission that grants special privileges to a wealthy few with the promise that they will provide new technology and greater spectrum use. This promise is a thinly veiled plan to get control of all or most of the available spectrum … charging the public what they want for these services.”
Speaking in favor of the plan, Nextel wrote that all finder’s-preference rules and the resulting pending applications frustrate the goals of geographic-area licensing. According to the carrier, winners of any auctioned spectrum need to be able to provide uniform coverage throughout a wide area, and competing with finder’s-preference winners would “undercut the rapid deployment of such uniform services” in any band.
