WASHINGTON-Mandatory negotiations between Sprint Nextel Corp. and the 800 MHz licensees it must pay to move as part of the Federal Communications Commission’s rebanding process began last week for Wave 1 licensees in Chicago, the northeastern United States, Northern California, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Colorado.
Sprint Nextel must negotiate a Frequency Reconfiguration Agreement with each licensee. The 800 MHz Transition Administrator must approve the FRAs.
“During the mandatory negotiation period, the parties have an obligation to negotiate in the utmost good faith. The TA, upon the request of either party, can act as a `conduit’ to transmit information and provide assistance in communicating with the other party,” said the TA in a statement.
As part of its plan to solve public-safety interference in the 800 MHz band, the FCC selected an administrator to act as an independent third party. The law firm of Squire, Sanders, & Dempsey, consulting firm BearingPoint and Baseline Telecom Inc. comprise the team.
The transition administrator established a four-wave process with the first three waves completing the rebanding process by June 27, 2008. Formal negotiations for Wave 1 began June 27, and the third-wave formal negotiation process is set to begin no later than Jan. 3, 2006. Wave 4 is the border region, and the TA expects this area to take longer due to necessary diplomatic negotiations that must take place with Canada and Mexico.
The mandatory negotiations are the second step and follow formal negotiations. If the three-month mandatory negotiation process fails, the transition administrator will begin a mediation process Dec. 27. If the mediation also is unsuccessful, the TA will refer the matter to the FCC.
In 2005, the FCC adopted a plan to solve the interference problem; swap some spectrum with Nextel Communications Inc., now owned by Sprint Nextel Corp.; and have Nextel pay to move other companies off the spectrum band Nextel would receive.
Due to Hurricane Katrina, the transition administrator delayed the relocation process for Louisiana, which was scheduled to start Oct. 3, from Wave 2 to Wave 3, beginning Jan. 3. Mississippi and Alabama, two more states devastated by the hurricane, already were scheduled for Wave 3.
Reconfiguration of the rest of Wave 2, including the central United States and some of the Intermountain West, will proceed as planned Oct. 3.
