WASHINGTON, D.C.-A survey reflecting the frustration of specialized mobile radio operators may clear the air, but “unity and workable ideas” are what moves the industry forward, said SMR association leader Alan Shark.
Shark responded last week to survey results distributed by Small Business in Telecommunications. SBT is a new Washington, D.C.-based, nonprofit association for telecommunication companies with annual revenue of less than $20 million.
SBT said it surveyed 850 industry licensees via fax, asking questions about plans by the Federal Communication Commissions to auction 800 MHz spectrum.
“An overwhelming majority of the survey respondents expressed their desire to return to the commission’s rules as they existed before the commission enacted its freeze on Aug. 9, 1994,” according to a SBT survey summary.
Twelve percent supported the industry consensus plan.
“Many people expressing a preference for the so-called industry consensus also expressed a desire to obtain additional spectrum to serve their existing or potential customers,” SBT states.
“Apparently they fail to realize that the consensus plan will not provide them with the additional spectrum they desire.”
Shark’s American Mobile Telecommunications Association disagrees with the survey results. The consensus position, which was submitted in joint reply comments in March, would provide for a settlement procedure among incumbents on the lower 230 800 MHz SMR channels, AMTA said. Statements by SBT indicate that its members have not been informed about the plan, AMTA said.
“While SBT may have clearly articulated the fears and frustrations of incumbent operators, they fall short on realistic solutions,” Shark said.
The SBT survey found that 83 percent of respondents want additional spectrum, and 69 percent want additional area. Sixty-two percent of respondents were members of SBT, 21 percent were members of SMR Won, another SMR organization, and 19 percent were AMTA members, SBT states.
SBT said it will submit a comprehensive copy of its poll results to the FCC this month, and will “demonstrate to the commission that the SMR industry does not stand behind the commission’s plan to auction the heavily encumbered spectrum or the consensus plan.”
The SMR industry of the past may look great in hindsight, Shark said, but “the market and the entire wireless industry have changed enormously in the past two years.”
The industry has worked hard to formulate a reasonable licensing framework that is more constructive than just “simple demands to the FCC,” AMTA said.
