T-Mobile USA balks at FCC’s plans for AWS-3 auction

T-Mobile USA Inc. asked the Federal Communications Commission to extend up to three months the public comment cycle for a controversial free wireless Internet plan, a request that would provide additional time for interference testing and likely delay a final decision until after the fall presidential and congressional elections.
The current comment deadline is July 9, and reply comments are due July 16. The FCC would like to rule on the matter as soon as August.
The FCC wants to combine the 2155-2175 MHz and 2175-2180 MHz bands to create a 25 megahertz block of spectrum – known as AWS-3 – that would comprise a nationwide license. The licensee would have to offer 25% of network capacity for free wireless Internet service, install system-wide filtering to block obscene content (subscribers would be free to opt out) and allow entry of third-party devices and applications.
T-Mobile USA, which spent $4.2 billion on 120 licenses in the AWS-1 auction two years ago, remains concerned that AWS-3 operations could cause interference to spectrum the carrier hopes will provide it with sufficient capacity to provide 3G wireless services and thereby remain competitive with AT&T Mobility, Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel Corp.
“The commission cannot responsibly reach a decision on the proposal advanced . without gathering empirical data concerning the interference risks that have been identified,” T-Mobile USA told the FCC. “TDD proponents have not provided any evidence whatsoever to meet their burden, and adjacent licensees concerned about the TDD proposal have not had adequate time to comprehensively finish their own interference analyses because they had no notice that the commission would shift the burden to them to provide affirmative evidence of interference. Even when it became clear that the commission was leaning toward a TDD proposal, the commission failed to take up T-Mobile’s repeated invitation to participate in joint testing of AWS-1 devices and those devices vulnerability to interference from TDD operations in the AWS-3 band.”
T-Mobile USA said if the agency does not agree to a 90-day extension for filing comments on the AWS-3 plan, the deadline should be pushed back at least 30 days to allow it to submit a comprehensive analysis of its own testing that is now in progress.
The mobile-phone industry and some GOP lawmakers oppose the free wireless Internet initiative championed by FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, arguing it is tailored to a single company’s business model and will lower auction revenues for the U.S. Treasury. However, the Martin proposal has backing from some Democrats, the majority in the House and Senate, and from various advocacy groups.
M2Z Networks Inc., a Silicon Valley-funded startup headed by former wireless policymaker John Muleta, calls testing unnecessary and a delay tactic. The firm’s free, family-friendly wireless broadband plan was rejected by the FCC, prompting it to sue the FCC in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Though embroiled in litigation with the FCC, M2Z nevertheless appears anxious to bid on a national AWS-3 license.