FCC grants Sprint Nextel rebanding waiver: June 26 deadline pushed back indefinitely

The Federal Communications Commission agreed not to hold Sprint Nextel Corp. and public-safety agencies to the June 26 deadline regarding portions of spectrum involved in an 800 MHz rebanding effort designed to remedy public-safety interference caused by the No. 3 mobile phone carrier’s push-to-talk operations.
The agency also could rule before week’s end to forgo enforcement of the deadline for Sprint Nextel to vacate a separate chunk of airwaves involved in the rebanding initiative – interleaved 800 MHz frequencies – so telecom regulators can consider the company’s latest waiver request for additional time to implement a phased-in, regional-based transition plan.
“Today’s decision will ensure that America’s first responders have access to this vitally important resource when responding to emergencies and their potentially life-saving actions,” said Robert Kenny, an FCC spokesman. “We expect that Sprint and the public-safety community will continue to work together to ensure that the rebanding transition continues to go smoothly, with no major disruptions to the overall 800 MHz rebanding initiative.”
Today’s FCC waiver involved the 120 National Public Safety Planning Advisory Committee channel block. Earlier this week, the commission granted deadline waivers to hundreds of public-safety licensees that occupy 800 MHz channels that Sprint Nextel would move to as part of a spectrum swap.
“We appreciate that the FCC has granted our waiver to remain on the 1-120 channels until public-safety agencies are prepared to retune,” said Scott Sloat, a Sprint Nextel spokesman. “Sprint remains committed to completing reconfiguration and we will continue to clear channels as needed on 60 days notice. As all stakeholders acknowledge, however, many public-safety licensees simply need additional time to complete their retuning activities.”
Sloat added: “By granting this waiver, the FCC has helped to promote reconfiguration progress while enabling Sprint to maintain best-ever network performance for its customers. We look forward to continuing to work with the public-safety community and the FCC to ensure that reconfiguration is completed as quickly as possible without disruption to all involved.”
Analysts predict the FCC will give additional relief to Sprint Nextel with respect to interleaved 800 MHz spectrum on which its iDEN services currently operate.
“We . expect the FCC to grant a short extension to the June 26 deadline to allow for the commission and all other parties sufficient time to review Sprint’s proposal,” said Jessica Zufolo, an analyst at Global Medley Advisors L.L.C. “Such an extension could last until late July/early August. We expect a bit more haggling to occur over the number of channels Sprint must vacate at the start of the new deadline.”
Noting FCC Chairman Kevin Martin’s two-week trip to Asia, analysts at Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. Inc. also said they doubted agency action on Sprint Nextel’s interleaved 800 MHz waiver request until later in the summer.
Separately, there’s the question of the commercial impact of the 800 MHz rebanding effort, which could end up costing Sprint Nextel more than $3 billion. “[W]e continue to believe that until the total cost of the rebanding can be calculated with greater certainty, which probably will not happen until 2009, it will be difficult for the company to attract a buyer,” said Stifel.