Nextel ups 800 MHz band relocation offer; consensus parties threaten FCC
WASHINGTON-In a Christmas Eve filing, Nextel Communications Inc., private-wireless licensees and the public-safety community threatened the Federal Communications Commission that if it did not accept the entire Consensus Plan, the plan would fall apart and public-safety interference in the 800 MHz band would continue.
“The Consensus Plan offers the [FCC] a comprehensive and effective solution to the continuing problem of [commercial mobile radio services] CMRS/public-safety interference. Every provision of the Consensus Plan is interrelated and complements every other provision to assure that no 800 MHz incumbent licensee loses spectrum due to realignment, while putting into place 800 MHz reorganization essential to mitigating CMRS/public-safety interference. In short, the Consensus Plan must be adopted as a whole; any material changes will jeopardize the voluntary commitments of the affected licensees and their representative associations essential to successful implementation,” said the 150-page filing offered by the 16 entities that make up the consensus parties.
The Consensus Plan would split the 800 MHz band into two parts-one for cellularized systems and one for non-cellularized systems. Earlier on in the process, the private wireless entities-led by the Industrial Telecommunications Association-tried to develop a plan with Cingular Wireless L.L.C. that would have moved the public-safety operations to the 700 MHz band. Such a move would have required congressional approval.
The consensus parties believe their filing gives the FCC enough information to adopt the Consensus Plan. The group also notes that its membership “represents every category of licensee operating in the 800 MHz land mobile radio band and over 90 percent of the licensees affected by CMRS/public-safety interference. The Consensus Plan is the only proposal before the commission that enjoys this broad-based support.”
The most controversial aspect of the plan is that Nextel would receive 10 megahertz of spectrum in the 1.9 GHz band (1910-1915-1995 MHz). The wireless industry, led by the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association, has previously derided this proposal as a spectrum grab.
To sweeten the pot, Nextel has agreed to pay $850 million to relocate incumbents in the 800 MHz band. The amount is $350 million more than it originally proposed.
“Nextel will fund, up to a total of $850 million, the relocation of all 800 MHz incumbents-not just public-safety licensees-required to move pursuant to the Consensus Plan, provided that the [FCC] grants Nextel a replacement 10 megahertz nationwide CMRS license at 1910-1915-1995 in exchange for the more than 10 megahertz Nextel will surrender at 700 MHz, 800 MHz and 900 MHz to make possible the land mobile radio band realignment necessary to solve CMRS/public-safety interference,” reads the filing.
Previously Nextel had only agreed to spend $500 million to relocate public-safety licensees but public-safety licensees said that would not be enough and private-wireless licensees were not willing to pay to relocate especially since most of the private-wireless licensees are not experiencing interference. The new amount will allow Nextel to pay $700 million for public-safety relocation and $150 million for private-wireless relocation. The consensus parties did a detailed analysis of the relocation necessary for their plan to work and believe $850 million will cover these expenses.
The bulk of the money to be paid by Nextel will be given out in the latter stages of a 42-month implementation schedule, said Nextel, noting that the first nine months after the FCC adopts the proposal will be taken up with frequency planning.
Another criticism of the Consensus Plan was that it did not address 800 MHz interference in the border areas with Canada and Mexico.
“The land mobile radio spectrum in the Canadian and Mexican border areas is divided between the respective countries along their common border; as a result, the reduced U.S. primary spectrum in the border areas is allocated among the various land mobile radio services differently than it is in the rest of the country. The consensus parties propose border area realignment plans that separate public safety and cellular systems to the maximum extent possible, consistent with the national realignment plan. No current primary border area licensee will lose any channels due to realignment, and secondary use of Mexican and Canadian channels by U.S. licensees in the U.S. border areas is preserved,” reads the filing. RCR
