WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission on Friday shored up rules for auctioning 16,000 paging licenses later this year and announced it will not take action on waiver petitions on the incompatibility of text telephone devices and digital wireless systems until wireless regulators explore the issue further.
The FCC said it will seek public comment shortly on auction activity rules, upfront payments and minimum opening bids for paging licenses in the upper bands (929-930 MHz and 931-932 MHz) and lower bands (35-36 MHz, 43-44 MHz, 152-159 MHz, 454-460 MHz).
The agency affirmed an earlier decision to dismiss all paging applications filed after July 31, 1996; to use major economic areas (MEAs) rather than major trading areas (MTAs) for paging licensing in upper bands; and to use economic trading areas (EAs) for licensing in the lower paging bands.
The FCC declined to limit eligibility for paging auctions to incumbent licensees or exempt incumbents from having to participate in auctions to secure spectrum. It also affirmed that Basic Exchange Telephone Radio Service licenses are due complete interference protection and can obtain additional site specific licenses on a secondary basis.
BETRs operators sought an exemption for auctions, but the FCC declined the request.
The FCC also ruled nationwide paging operators can partition their service areas and that nationwide, MEA and EA paging operators can disaggregate their spectrum. There will be population coverage requirements for parties to partitioning and disaggregation agreements involving MEA and EA licenses.
The FCC declined to rule at this time whether to impose minimum coverage requirements on licensees holding nationwide licenses until similar issues raised in a pending narrowband personal communications services proceeding at the FCC are resolved.
