PICKERING EXPECTS ADMINISTRATION TO PUSH BACK 3G AUCTION
Bush Administration is expected shortly to put forward delay in auction of 3rd generation wireless spectrum, Rep. Pickering (R- Miss.) told reporters Tues. Delay proposal, which has been backed by CTIA, wouldn’t affect other auction deadlines and would serve as “moratorium” to allow framework to be put in place to tackle issues on advanced wireless allocations, he said after Toffler Assoc. panel on spectrum allocation. FCC faces statutory deadline for putting proceeds from 3G auction into U.S. Treasury by Sept. 30, 2002. In June, FCC Chmn. Powell wrote to Commerce Secy. Donald Evans that more time was needed beyond July target date to make 3G spectrum allocation decision. House Commerce Committee hearing is planned in 2 weeks that will invite govt. policymakers on 3G, including top brass from Commerce, FCC, Defense Dept., NTIA. “We want to have all the stakeholders,” Pickering said. Meanwhile, DoD Acting Dir.-Spectrum Analysis & Management Rebecca Cowen-Hirscht repeated Pentagon’s continued hard line on relocation of military incumbents at 1.7 GHz, telling panel that more than money was needed to solve 3G problem.
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Pickering is drafting bill on wireless spectrum allocation that will examine issues such as how to migrate DoD spectrum to private sector for 3G network deployment. He said repeatedly that he didn’t want to “prejudge” 3G allocation decision and that all options were on table. But he said of possibility of moving MMDS and Instructional TV Fixed Service operations out of 2.5 GHz: “Politically, that’s infeasible.” Pickering also stressed possibility of 3G legislation’s moving this year as pressure mounted on impact of spectrum allocation decision on federal budget process. Allocation of mobile satellite spectrum for 3G uses also will be covered by legislation, Pickering said. He and other panel participants emphasized need not only to make viable 3G spectrum decision but also to reform spectrum policy that dates to 1930s.
“The time is right for us to get the type of structural reform you are talking about,” Pickering said. “From a budget point of view, from DoD’s modernization objectives from the industry’s need for 3G harmonization and competitiveness, I think the stars and planets are aligned for us to do something.” He expressed optimism that budgetary pressures driven by 3G auction estimates in range of $25-$45 billion, defense modernization interests and wireless industry competitive considerations would “force some type of new process” for making spectrum allocation decisions. CTIA Pres. Tom Wheeler urged innovative solutions to bring together all sides in 3G debate. He cited extent to which DoD has indicated that one-half of its fixed wireless spectrum is used by Army Corps of Engineers for monitoring. Commercial applications can be used for such “bursty” data applications, freeing this spectrum for other uses, he said.
Cowen-Hirscht, of Defense Information Systems Agency, disputed characterizations by some in 3G debate that DoD didn’t use its spectrum efficiently. As commercial wireless growth creates need for more spectrum, she said, military has growing demands as well, including projected 90% increase in mobile capacity requirements by 2005. “Money will not resolve the department’s requirements for spectrum access,” she said, with CTIA Senior Vp Govt. Affairs Steve Berry later responding that industry had said time, money and technology could help solve problem. Cowen-Hirscht questioned several potential fixes that wireless industry had put forward as ways to bridge relocation and allocation requirements involving DoD incumbents on spectrum coveted by commercial wireless operators for 3G. “Technology offers some opportunities, it is not a panacea,” she said. As for potential relocation of military users in 1750-1855 MHz, Cowen- Hirscht said military spent significant time designing systems for robust operation in particular band.
While wireless industry representatives and Pickering urged overhaul of process used to make spectrum management decisions, Cowen-Hirscht disagreed: “Within the current debate, the tendency is to want to usurp the existing processes and go around them.” CTIA’s Berry disagreed, saying current process had “not served industry well and has not served DoD well.” Spectrum policy has been adept at handling day-to-day changes but not “monumental” policy shifts, Berry said. “It is not very effective at making major policy decisions that move large blocks of spectrum.”