Coordination within the wireless industry is required to avoid in...

an open space involving spectrum,” said Peter Tenhula, FCC Wireless Bureau deputy chief. He said interference problems often could be solved by individual companies: “Industry spends a lot more time figuring out a lot more issues, [and] they are sometimes a lot smarter in those issues,” while “the process of putting restrictions [by the FCC] is mind-numbing to say the least.” NextWeb CEO Graham Barnes said there was “no guarantee for any of the operators to operate without interference. As an operator, you have to keep your head up and be aware that there are other operators out there.” For example, he said Cal. operators were in the process of creating a group called “The Area Network Coordinators” to share information on network changes: “I don’t believe it’s something the FCC should do, I think that it should be left to the individual operators.” UniiGo Communications CEO Dudley Freeman suggested “the industry itself should do some type of registration with some type of a database… It’s something that we have to govern, so that all our businesses are together, rather than against one another.” WCA attorney Robert Primosch said a “remedy” for interference was to “to demonstrate that [the interfering parties] are not operating within the parameters of Part 15” of the FCC’s rules. Barnes and Freeman agreed the Commission should release extra spectrum to help companies eliminate interference. Barnes said unlicenced spectrum presented a “great opportunity to start in the business,” but “as we get more customers, we need more spectrum… We [continue to] operate in the unlicensed spectrum because we don’t have access to some of the [licensed] band because it all has been auctioned off.” In a separate panel discussion, Karen Possner, BellSouth vp- national security & strategic policy, asked whether it was secure to share critical infrastructure information with the govt.: “This world is a different place after 9/11… Release of such information could provide a road map for the terrorists.” She said physical telecom facilities remained a “target, and we have responsibility to increase security of our physical facilities. We want to be certain [the information] we share with the government is used for the purposes it’s been asked for and it’s not shared with the people who are not legitimate.” She said she was sure the solution would be found, “but we are not there yet.”