T-Mobile USA Inc. said government testing revealed interference from operations in a spectrum block that Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin wants to auction for wireless broadband and that is situated adjacent to wireless licenses for which the No. 4 cellular carrier paid $4.2 billion in the advanced wireless services-1 auction two years ago.
“Under the conditions tested, out-band-emission interference from AWS-3 interfering sources appears to be the most dominant interference mechanism,” T-Mobile told the FCC. The carrier’s filing was signed by other major stakeholders such as AT&T Inc., cellular association CTIA, MetroPCS Communications Inc. and Nokia Corp./Nokia Siemens Networks.
Martin is pushing a plan to auction the 2155-2175 MHz and 2175-2180 MHz bands – AWS-3 – in hopes that a national wireless broadband player will emerge to compete against telephone and cable giants that dominate the high-speed Internet market. The proposal has triggered intense controversy at theFCC and on Capitol Hill.
Charges of faulty filters
M2Z Networks Inc., a Silicon Valley-funded startup headed by former wireless policymaker John Muleta, claims any interference from AWS-3 operations has more to do with faulty filters in T-Mobile’s AWS-1 handsets.
“It seems that T-Mobile is simply jumping the gun on the FCC’s deliberations and restating its earlier position,” said Muleta in an e-mailed statement. “This type of tactic of playing to the press without providing any data to support its case is the way that T-Mobile and other incumbents play in Washington to prevent competition. Fortunately for the American people, the FCC has all of the information it needs to develop unbiased technical rules enabling two-way broadband in the AWS-3 band and thereby promote the public interest.”
The FCC last year rejected a M2Z proposal similar to the one Martin is now championing. M2Z wanted to bypass an auction to secure an AWS-3 national license, but promised to pay a small portion of subscription-based revenues to the U.S. Treasury. M2Z subsequently sued the FCC for dismissing its wireless broadband application, yet the firm has become one of the biggest backers of Martin’s AWS-3 initiative. Key House Democrats support Martin’s wireless broadband plan, while their Republican counterparts think it’s a bad idea.
It is unclear how the latest testing results conducted by FCC engineers Sept. 3-5 in Seattle will impact the AWS-3 proceeding. Given the nettlesome policy and technical issues, it appears doubtful any auction would take place this year.