WASHINGTON-Federal regulators last week agreed to give wireless broadband carriers improved access to educational spectrum in the 2.5 GHz band, a move sought by telecom and a major investment firm, but resisted until recently by a powerful parochial school system.
The Federal Communications Commission said it will allow educational broadband service licensees to enter into excess-capacity leases for a maximum of 30 years, but said leases with terms of 15 years or longer must include a right to review the educational-use requirements of the leases every five years beginning at year 15.
The FCC ruling is based on a recent agreement between the Wireless Communications Association International and the Catholic Television Network.
At its meeting last Wednesday, the FCC also decided to scale down the geographic size of new broadband wireless licenses from major economic areas to basic trading areas.
“Although WCA is disappointed that the commission has not seen fit to adopt in full the proposals of this unprecedented joint industry effort, today’s action will provide the certainty that operators and manufacturers need to complete the transition to the new 2.5 GHz band channelization plan adopted in 2004 and to deploy wireless broadband facilities that help achieve the president’s goal of universal affordable access to broadband for all Americans,” WCA said.
The FCC revamped the 2.5 GHz band in 2004 to facilitate wireless broadband deployment in the United States. The process of making that happen is ongoing, owing to technical revisions, licensee relocation and other regulatory changes.
“Encouraging education and promoting the deployment of commercial broadband services are both important goals of the commission, and we believe the leasing provisions the commission adopts today will support them both,” said FCC Chairman Kevin Martin and Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate in a joint statement.
FCC Commissioner Michael Copps, one of the two Democrats on the GOP-controlled FCC, reluctantly joined other members in approving extended terms for leasing educational 2.5 GHz spectrum by service providers like Sprint Nextel Corp., BellSouth Corp., Clearwire Corp. and NextWave Broadband Inc.
“I have to tell you that I worry whether we may be going too far today. I am not so certain that it is really wise for any educational institution to lock up, even partially, use of its valuable EBS license for the next 30 years. In making our judgment, it is sobering to remember that 30 years ago the best and the brightest of our engineers believed that the optimal use of this spectrum was for multipoint distribution systems meant to compete with cable video providers. Satellite broadcasting was not even on the radar screen-let alone the low-power, cellularized wireless broadband access technologies that we seek to encourage today.”
Copps said he would have preferred to accept one party’s recommendation to give educational broadband licensees the right to reclaim up to 5 percent of the capacity of their spectrum every year, up to a limit of 25 percent. “Indeed, I would have supported an even higher limit,” Copps said. “That strikes me as a far better way to ensure that the EBS spectrum will ultimately benefit those it is meant to benefit. But because that choice is not before me, I concur, with some hesitation, in today’s item.”
Democratic Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein also joined the majority in the 2.5 GHz broadband wireless decision, but spoke out about issues he said were not resolved by telecom regulators.
“I have lingering concerns about our treatment of existing [broadband radio service] operators who are interested in `opting-out’ of the commission’s [2.5 GHz band] transition plan,” Adelstein said. “These service providers have complied with our rules for many years, and have deployed digital video-and sometimes even digital broadband-systems that ably serve their respective communities. While there was not sufficient support to move beyond the waiver language that we adopted in our last item, I have tried to provide these BRS operators with some improved structure by advocating an automatic grant provision for those parties that filed waivers for opt-out that went unopposed. I am disappointed that we ultimately were unable to provide these operators with additional certainty but am pleased we make commitments to review these waivers expeditiously.”
Adelstein also said he wished the FCC would have done more to better encourage commercial and education broadband licensees to comply with construction requirements in the 2.5 GHz band.
Late last month, Chicago-based Madison Dearborn Partners L.L.C, a top U.S. private-equity investment company, said longer lease terms associated with 2.5 GHz educational spectrum were critical to attracting capital to wireless broadband.
“Without sufficient security in the asset, investors will likely lack sufficient assurance that lessees can recoup the expense of the long-term, high-value investments in the spectrum needed to deliver broadband services to the public,” Madison Dearborn told the FCC.
