High-tech group pushes for auction of prized 700 MHz spectrum

A coalition of wireless and high-tech groups urged the Senate Commerce Committee to keep intact the legislative framework that gives public safety additional radio frequencies while rolling out digital TV, warning lawmakers that Cyren Call Communications Corp.’s plan to divert 30 megahertz of auction-bound spectrum for a nationwide interoperable public-safety broadband network would undermine communications for police, firefighters and medics and threaten American competitiveness.
“This proposal should alarm lawmakers as it is in conflict with the DTV Act and other statutes enacted by Congress,” said the High Tech DTV Coalition in a letter today to Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) and Vice Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska). “By not auctioning the commercial spectrum that will generate monies used to fund the DTV transition, Cyren Call would derail the entire transition process. In so doing, it would place at risk public safety’s ability to obtain access to the 24 megahertz that it so desperately needs for interoperability.”
The 30 megahertz of spectrum in the 700 MHz band sought by Cyren Call and public-safety backers is half of the total spectrum Congress said must be auctioned by Jan. 28, 2008.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) last week said he intends to offer legislation making the 30 MHz available to public-safety agencies. The 60 MHz of spectrum set for auction later this year is estimated by government budget experts to be worth between $10 billion and $15 billion. Mobile-phone carriers and high-tech vendors with WiMAX designs could be among the big bidders for airwaves with highly favorable propagation characteristics.
Public-safety groups that are lined up behind Cyren Call said $5 billion would be returned to the U.S. Treasury from revenues of companies that would build the national network and share it with public-safety agencies, the later having preferential operating rights.
The Senate Commerce Committee on Thursday will hear testimony from Cyren Call Chairman Morgan O’Brien, cellphone association CTIA President Steve Largent, and public-safety representatives.
Meantime, the Federal Communications Commission, which rejected the Cyren Call plan in November, has proposed to designate for broadband use half of the 24 megahertz of spectrum already allocated to first responders. The 24 megahertz is separate from the additional 30 megahertz that Cyren Call and public-safety groups claim they need to support wireless broadband applications.
Legislation signed into law last year forces TV broadcasters to surrender public safety’s 24 megahertz of spectrum and the commercial sector’s 60 megahertz of spectrum by Feb. 17, 2009. Money raised from the 700 MHz auction would fund public-safety communications interoperability grants ($1 billion), digital-to-analog TV converter boxes ($1.5 billion) and other government programs.
“Congress took a landmark step last year towards ensuring that public safety officials have the means they need to communicate in times of crisis, but the job isn’t complete,” said Jeffrey Connaughton, executive director of the High Tech DTV Coalition. “We now need to build on the success of the DTV Act by keeping to the timetable for conversion of 24 megahertz of spectrum for public safety and by ensuring that the 24 megahertz of spectrum is used efficiently and effectively.”
CTIA, Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile USA Inc. are members of the coalition. AT&T Inc.-owned Cingular Wireless L.L.C. and Sprint Nextel Corp. are not members, according to the High Tech DTV Coalition.