Citizens Against Govt. Waste (CAGW) weighed in against the ‘conse...

McCain to urge FCC Chmn. Powell to reject the plan. The consensus plan -- backed by Nextel, the Assn. of Public Safety Communications Officials and others -- would realign spectrum at 700, 800, 900 MHz and 1.9 GHz. Nextel would give up spectrum in return for bands it would receive elsewhere, including 1.9 GHz. In part, the plan would give both it and public safety operators contiguous spectrum at different parts of 800 MHz. “The value of this contiguous spectrum [for Nextel] has been estimated to be worth as much as $7 billion and if sold at auction it would be a major win for taxpayers,” CAGW told McCain: “It is ironic that this plan would give Nextel nearly a $5 billion windfall to ‘correct’ an interference problem it caused in the first place.” Meanwhile, Cingular told the FCC in a filing Wed. it backed Verizon Wireless’s arguments that if the FCC decided to pursue an 800 MHz rebanding solution it should do so without including the 700 MHz, 900 MHz and 1.9 GHz bands. Cingular said these bands “have nothing to do with interference being experienced in the 800 MHz band. The Commission should reject Nextel’s ultimatum and, given the significant benefit to Nextel, require Nextel to pay for this in-band realignment.” Cingular didn’t go so far as Verizon Wireless did last week, however, when it said it would be willing to bid in an immediate auction of spectrum at 1.9 GHz (CD Feb 27 p1).