FCC continues to receive feedback on Nextel White Paper that woul...

“commercial and private internal uses,” Washington attorneys John Prendergast and Richard Rubino told FCC in ex parte filing that Nextel’s proposed treatment of industrial/business users at 800 MHz must change. Nextel proposed to offer $500 million to help public safety licenses with costs such as retuning, they said, but didn’t offer private wireless users similar assistance. Attorneys recommended “Commission require that any incumbent licensee who relocates to other spectrum or is ultimately required to relocate to other spectrum at some future time have its relocation expenses reimbursed.” Nextel’s proposed offer of $500 million to help public safety users move is likely to be relatively small part of relocation cost, filing said, and it should bear “primary responsibility” for relocation costs in that band. Attorneys also balked at Nextel proposal that it receive 10 MHz in reserve portion of mobile satellite service band at 2.1 GHz as part of reconfiguration, saying that essentially would give Nextel “free” 3rd generation wireless license. Last month, Pegasus also raised concerns in letter to FCC Chmn. Powell about how 700 MHz guard band spectrum would be handled under Nextel proposal. Noting that Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on potential solutions to interference at 800 MHz is expected shortly, Pegasus said NPRM must weigh impact on guard band spectrum. “Nextel’s proposal has the ability to substantially alter the development of the guard bands in a way never contemplated by the Commission when it allocated the 700 MHz spectrum, promulgated the rules governing the guard bands and auctioned the guard band licenses to the highest bidder,” Pegasus said. It was among auction winners in FCC’s 700 MHz guard band auction. If part of guard band spectrum is reallocated to business radio and industrial/land transportation radio users, that “may fundamentally alter the demand for services from the 700 MHz guard band managers, which would of course affect the business plans of the auction winners,” Pegasus said.