Legg Mason said in a note to investors Mon. that FCC staffers app...

said the plan under consideration at the agency could give Nextel less than the 10 MHz of spectrum at 1.9 GHz it had sought as part of a “consensus plan” devised by Nextel, public safety groups and some private wireless carriers. One possibility is that Nextel would get 4 or 6 MHz instead, perhaps at 1.9 GHz or maybe elsewhere, Legg Mason said. “In addition to giving Nextel less than the 10 MHz of spectrum that it seeks in the 1.9 GHz band, we believe the Commission is likely to require Nextel to increase its commitment to fund the relocation of public safety and private wireless operators in the 800 MHz band, either by placing a larger amount of money in escrow early on or agreeing to fund additional costs if necessary, or both,” it said. While cautioning that the proceeding still was being finalized, Legg Mason said the “latest staff leanings” would be good news for Nextel and the company probably would accept such a compromise. Nextel had said it submitted its plan to the FCC as a whole package, including the funding portion, but officials in recent weeks haven’t said how they would react if the FCC were to give them something less than what they wanted. One complicating factor for the FCC is that if it were to give Nextel up to 6 MHz at 1.9 GHz as part of a swap arrangement, “this may foreclose auctioning off the so-called G-band, which the wireless industry has sought to supplement its PCS services. This may mean that the FCC will look elsewhere for replacement spectrum for Nextel,” Legg Mason said.