WASHINGTON-A company wishing to offer wireless broadband services in New
York expressed disappointment Thursday that the Federal Communications
Commission rules for the 2.5 GHz band did not resolve an ongoing dispute it has
with the Catholic church in Brooklyn, N.Y.
“NY3G appreciates that the FCC
is calling for further discussion of this problem. But this issue needs to be
settled as soon as possible. The New York City area should be a leader in this
technology, not a laggard,” said John Hearne, president of NY3G
Partnership. “The new policy acknowledges that under current rules, the
rollout of wireless broadband is being `hindered.’ The commission reiterates its
goal is to make wireless broadband available to all Americans `as quickly as
possible.’ NY3G looks forward to working with the FCC to resolve the outstanding
issues so that it can bring new and innovative services to the people of
metropolitan New York as quickly as possible.”
The FCC in June adopted
rules, which opened a huge swath of spectrum for wireless broadband services,
creating incentives for businesses to invest in a third digital pipe to homes
and businesses across the country. The text of the rules was released last
Thursday.
The FCC’s rules revamped the 2.5 GHz band, making it technically
feasible and financially attractive to deploy wireless broadband systems in that
frequency range.
Schools and colleges, which offer educational video services
and lease excess channels to commercial firms in the band, were protected. The
FCC declined to relax or eliminate eligibility rules for the Instructional
Television Fixed Service or allow educational institutions to sell their
licenses. In all, nearly 200 megahertz more frequencies than those allocated to
cellular, PCS and SMR services were involved in the 2.5 GHz band overhaul.
NY3G claims the diocese is blocking the rollout of wireless broadband service
in the city and parts of nearby Connecticut and New Jersey.
“For years
NY3G has sought to deploy a wireless broadband service in the nation’s largest
market, using spectrum awarded to us in 1985. However, NY3G’s plans have been
blocked by a grandfathered co-channel licensee in the same spectrum-the Diocese
of Brooklyn-which needs only a small portion of the spectrum it was granted in
1963 for broadcasting of educational programming. The interference between these
two competing uses of spectrum has never been fully resolved, despite our best
efforts to negotiate an equitable solution,” said Hearne.
The Diocese of
Brooklyn was not available for comment, but in June told RCR Wireless News it
believed the issue could be resolved.
Jeffrey Silva, Washington Bureau
chief of RCR Wireless News, contributed to this report.
