WASHINGTON-The 800 MHz fight is heating up again as both sides argue that public-safety communications must be the overarching concern in any negotiation.
The city of Baltimore weighed in against the Consensus Plan, while Nextel Communications Inc. produced two studies that claim the Consensus Plan is the best way to address harmful interference at 800 MHz.
“We see the plan to change everyone’s frequency as an approach that hopes to solve the problems of entities that have not upgraded their equipment or have not installed state-of-the-art systems, while putting those who have done the job properly at risk. We cannot provide more money, and we cannot put the operational or financial integrity of our public-safety system in the hands of a private entity. Our police officials see no possibility that any retuning plan advanced so far would build a redundant second system that would not require the shut down of our existing equipment until a new system with the same capability were fully operational. That is the only acceptable way to protect our citizens. Any other system is courting disaster at a time when our nation’s security has never been more at risk,” said Baltimore Mayor Martin O’Malley.
The Baltimore letter is in direct contrast with two studies submitted by Nextel, which claim that the benefits to society outweigh the benefits Nextel would receive.
`The valuation arguments of Nextel’s competitors are a trap intended to misdirect the FCC’s focus from solving the very real and very urgent problems facing public-safety communicators. The commission’s public-interest analysis should focus on the costs and benefits of the Consensus Plan in terms of remedying the 800 MHz interference problem and promoting improved public-safety communications capabilities,” wrote Kostas Liopiros, founder and principal of Sun Fire Group, a technology consultant firm based in Alexandria, Va., hired by Nextel. “Consensus Plan opponents ask the FCC to reject the plan because it may indirectly affect their relative spectrum positions and their corporate interests. They totally ignore the pressing public-interest issue before the commission: remedying interference to public-safety systems in the 800 MHz band and enhancing public-safety communications.”
While there are a variety of different options that could be used, there are only two plans on the table.
The Consensus Plan splits the 800 MHz band into two parts. The 800 MHz band would be rebanded to separate cellularized and non-cellularized systems, Nextel has said it needs 10 megahertz of spectrum in the 1.9 GHz band because it is giving up spectrum in the 700, 800 and 900 MHz bands. Nextel also is willing to set aside $850 million-in both escrow and lines of credit to help pay for the necessary retuning.
The balanced-approach proposal calls for timely resolution of interference at the expense of the interferer.
Not surprisingly, the Nextel studies did not persuade those in favor of the balanced approach.
“No matter how they slice or dice it, it is still a broad windfall for Nextel,” said Brian Fontes, vice president of federal affairs for Cingular Wireless L.L.C. and a leading opponent of the Nextel/private-wireless/public-safety proposal to shuffle the licensees at 800 MHz. “It is convenient that they can wrap themselves in the flag of public safety but a windfall is a windfall.”
