WASHINGTON-The Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association Wednesday used a Nov. 3 filing from Motorola Inc. to question whether the $850 million Nextel Communications Inc. has committed to retune public-safety radios in the 800 MHz band will be sufficient if the Federal Communications Commission adopts the Consensus Plan for solving the interference in the band.
“Motorola’s cost estimates illustrate the enormous burden public safety will have to bear should the rebanding plan be approved,” said CTIA President Steve Largent. “This is a difficult time for state and local governments and asking for more money is not feasible.”
The FCC asked Motorola to estimate how many public-safety radios would have to be retuned if the Consensus Plan is adopted.
“Whether the radio can be reprogrammed or must be replaced is an estimate based on the Consensus Plan channel arrangement for the non-border areas of the continental United States and assumptions about final FCC rules. The actual impact may vary depending on final details of the plan, and in particular, the final resolution of plans in the border areas,” said Motorola. “Because of the durability of and resale market for equipment produced for the public-safety community, it is extremely difficult, if not impossible to accurately determine which products are in current use or what percentage of the total embedded base a certain model of radio represents. Motorola is printing information for equipment sold over the last 10 years although the actual replacement cycle for products, generally in the seven- to 10-year range, will vary from licensee to licensee and may be either less than or greater than average.”
On the same day that Motorola questioned that only 1 percent of the embedded radios would need to be retuned-part of the analysis that led to the $850 million figure-Nextel told the FCC it would deposit $100 million in an escrow account and secure irrevocable lines of credit for the other $750 million to pay for the relocation of public safety and private wireless.
The Consensus Plan would shuffle the 800 MHz band to eliminate the current situation where public safety, private wireless, Nextel and some cellular carriers are interwoven. Nextel said that $850 million will be sufficient to pay for the necessary retuning of public-safety and private-wireless radios. Previously, Nextel had agreed to place $25 million in escrow with the remainder to be dispersed according to a complicated process outlined in the Consensus Plan.
In exchange for giving up spectrum in the 700, 800 and 900 MHz bands and for paying to retune public safety and private wireless, Nextel has asked for 10 megahertz in the 1.9 GHz band.
RCR Wireless News first reported Oct. 27 that FCC staff is contemplating a proposal that would give Nextel no more than 6 megahertz of spectrum in the 1.9 GHz band.
CTIA favors the balanced approach proposal, also sponsored by the United Telecom Council. The balanced approach calls for timely resolution of current interference at the expense of the interferer, coupled with technical rules, notification and coordination procedures to prevent new interference.
