Wireless Communications Assn. (WCA) petitioned FCC for reconsider...
Wireless Communications Assn. (WCA) petitioned FCC for reconsideration of order that reallocated spectrum for 3G and other advanced wireless services, including part of 2150-2162 MHz now occupied by Multipoint Distribution Service (MDS) licensees. WCA said order would displace MDS…
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operators without earmarking comparable replacement spectrum and without providing assurance relocation costs would be fully reimbursed. Group said decision is arbitrary and capricious, “evisceration of the rights” MDS licensees bought at auction and “a breach of faith with MDS licensees who have made every effort to cooperate with the Commission in this matter for over 2 years.” WCA petition said order “reaffirms the maxim that no good deed goes unpunished.” WCA and MDS spectrum holders have provided details addressing issues such as availability of comparable replacement spectrum and replacement costs while carriers who seek to displace MDS from band “have offered virtually nothing,” petition said. Order reallocated 2150-2155 MHz to advanced wireless services, which effectively displaced MDS from entire 2150- 2162 MHz band, WCA said. But petition said order deferred considering MDS relocation until future notice of proposed rulemaking, “without indicating how or when those issues might be resolved.” WCA called this “cart before the horse” decision-making that provides no foundation for MDS relocation. In other areas, WCA raised concerns about what it said was lack of explanation about how FCC’s “repossession” of MDS spectrum would square with its auction policy. “It should be obvious that repossession of previously auctioned spectrum without the quid pro quo of comparable replacement spectrum and full reimbursement of relocation costs threatens the integrity of the Commission’s entire auction process,” WCA petition said. Citing “property interests” of incumbent licensees, FCC decision also implicates 5th Amendment’s prohibition against takings of property without just compensation, WCA argued. Among issues raised by petition was that if FCC ultimately decides that no replacement spectrum is available or that it can’t reimburse dislocated MDS licensees, it will have to reverse 2150-2155 MHz reallocation decision, throwing broader 3G spectrum plan into uncertainty.