WASHINGTON-According to a new book on wireless regulations written by former Industrial Telecommunications Association staffer Fred Day, “In 1993, Congress amended the Communications Act to incorporate a new term, `commercial mobile service,’ also referred to as `commercial mobile radio service.’ This term is essentially synonymous with common carrier and, by explicit direction of Congress, the Federal Communications Commission must treat all CMRS systems as common carriers.”
As such, CMRS carriers must make interconnected service available to the public at large or to enough classes of users as to make up a group of the public at large.
On the other hand, there are the private land mobile radio systems that walk like a duck and talk like a duck, but there is enough difference in service as to render them into another regulatory classification. If the carrier does not provide interconnected services or if its services are not available to the general public, the rules are different.
It is not known yet how the FCC under the leadership of Bill Kennard and his new colleagues will handle the myriad CMRS and private radio issues that have languished at the commission. Although Kennard pledged his support of small business in his first speech following his swearing-in ceremony, as general counsel to the FCC in his previous incarnation, Kennard backed many a commission item that some in the industry would say were not small-business-friendly.
The new chairman has not set his agenda regarding pending wireless issues, but his constituents hope that a new regime will help move things from the back to the front burner.
Not that this past year hasn’t had its specialized mobile radio victories, but they have been few and far between. “We had the 220-MHz ruling come out earlier this year, but it still has a major outstanding issue to resolve. But the FCC did pretty much what we wanted,” commented Alan Shark, president of the American Mobile Telecommunications Association. “This has been a tough year. We’ve worked more on defense than we have on offense, but we are much more optimistic about working with the new FCC.”
Shark believes Kennard does harbor kind feelings toward small-and minority-owned businesses, and he hopes that now that many of the bigger players have gotten what they wanted from the commission, the FCC may be able “to pay us some attention. We weren’t able to in the past because (former FCC Chairman Reed) Hundt had an agenda.”
AMTA members will continue to be interested in any auction-oriented rulemaking because many already are participating in the current 800-MHz SMR auction, and others are making plans for the upcoming 220-MHz sale during the first quarter of next year. Shark admits that he still is smarting from the commission’s apparent snub of AMTA’s, Nextel Communications Inc.’s and SMR Won’s consensus agreement submitted as a blueprint for SMR auctions, but there are new issues to present.
AMTA still is waiting for the commission to craft a working definition of “covered SMR” so that CMRS and private carriers alike will know exactly how they fit in with certain strictures of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, such as what fees will have to be paid to various state and federal pools along with what needs to be done with number portability, RF emissions and E911 service.
“We have assurances that the text that was released two years ago continues to be okay, and that like companies would be regulated in the same way. However, the FCC is ruling on this item piecemeal,” Shark said. “It’s more than just a regulatory nightmare. We are dependent on equipment manufacturers but we must make sure we are in compliance.” If small, uninterconnected SMRs are forced to comply with many of the new technologies, Shark believes some will be forced into a decision to shut down.
“The small niche players will survive, no matter what,” he said. “The two-way business is fairly entrenched but we can’t sit still. Our people need to understand competition better-that we are not competing with cellular and personal communications services. We have to rethink what it means to be a mobile services provider. We need to understand who our best customers are, and we have to look for new spectrum opportunities, maybe in the new digital TV band.”
In a case of seeing the glass as half full instead of half empty, David Furth, chief of the FCC’s Commercial Wireless Division, thinks SMR regulation has taken a giant leap forward during the past 12 months.
“A year ago, we were still working on the 800-MHz rulemaking regarding auctions, and we were a long way off from moving the rulemaking from deliberation to actual accomplishment,” Furth told RCR. “The goal of the exercise was to streamline the licensing of 800-MHz licensing. We want to move out of regulatory gridlock, and we want to move the CMRS service into a more modern and efficient set of rules.”
On Furth’s short list of CMRS/private wireless goals is getting the stage ready for the next round of SMR auctions. That auction deals with the lower 200 SMR channels. He agreed with Shark that covered-SMR issues need to be resolved quickly along with roaming and resale concerns. “The SMRs have asked for reconsideration of our definition, and that’s at the staff level now.”
Furth said but he couldn’t pinpoint when the item could move up to the Eighth Floor for consideration. “It’s hard to judge when this will be presented, and we don’t know how long the learning curve will be [for the new commissioners].”
Furth reiterated Kennard’s commitment to keeping small businesses intact, saying that the continued role of smaller systems out in the field would be protected. As far as new spectrum is concerned, Furth added that the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau was continuing to evaluate the upcoming lower-band SMR auction in hopes that there would be opportunities for small players with bidding credits.
First quarter of next year is about as far as Furth can foretell the future. “Gazing into the crystal ball, it’s hard to see what the critical issues will be six months from now.”
However, Don Vasek, senior manager of industry affairs for the Personal Communications Industry Association, could point him in the right direction-refarming.
While Vasek commended the commission for moving on the refarming order last March, there continue to be sticking points hamper its full success. He agreed with AMTA’s Shark that lack of equipment is a problem.
“It has now been five years since the refarming notice of proposed rulemaking was released and, since that time, the private land mobile radio industry has had to put on hold any strategic decisions about what type of equipment to buy and when to buy it. This delay has affected thousands of private companies of all sizes. Their inability to upgrade their systems in an efficient and cost-conscious manner results in increased costs to the consumer for the goods and services these companies provide. Refarming has not received the high level of attention from the FCC that it deserves, and it’s about time they conclude the unfinished business.”
Besides refarming, Vasek believes the commission should resolve future low-power operations on the 450 MHz-470 MHz UHF offset channels and forward a ruling on channel exclusivity, including how private entities would pay for them.
“Exclusivity, if granted, will only come with a price,” Vasek said. “Whatever that price, PCIA is committed to the position that auctions are inappropriate for private spectrum where mutual exclusivities are virtually nonexistent.”
