WCA CHALLENGES PART OF FCC'S 3G SERVICE RULES

Separately, T-Mobile USA asked that the FCC revisit part of a decision to create license bands using paired spectrum blocks of 5, 10 and 15 MHz. T-Mobile asked the FCC to reconfigure the 30 MHz E Block licenses into a 20 MHz license that includes the 1740-1750 and 2140-2150 MHz blocks and a 10 MHz license that includes 1750-1755 and 2150-2155 MHz blocks. In a petition for reconsideration, T-Mobile said splitting the 30 MHz block would ensure licensees wouldn’t be forced to buy more spectrum than they need for their operations.

The Rural Cellular Assn. (RCA) also sought reconsideration of the AWS service rules, saying the licensing plan “disserves the public in rural America by favoring large wireless carriers over small wireless carriers.” Specifically, RCA said the band plan offers 80% of the licenses and 89% of the spectrum based on geographic license areas that only the largest wireless carriers in the U.S. “have the resources to purchase.” RCA said: “Perhaps even worse, the single license to be offered according to MSA/RSA boundaries provides only 10 MHz of spectrum.” The group said the nearly 100 Tier 3 -- or smallest -- carriers it represents will be “shut out” of competition for 4 of the 5 licenses available “because the geographic license areas are so large it will not be feasible for small carriers to compete successfully at auction.”

In Oct., the FCC adopted rules for AWS in the 1710-1755 MHz and 2110-2155 MHz bands. The rules allow licensees to aggregate spectrum in the bands and to partition and disaggregate their licenses, which will be assigned via auction. The Commission said 15% bidding credits would apply for entities qualifying as small business under the broadband PCS auctions. For “very small” businesses, 25% bidding credits would apply. The Dept. of Defense has agreed to clear the 1710-1755 MHz band for AWS. But Congress has yet to pass legislation allowing for a spectrum relocation trust fund that would reimburse incumbent govt. users for moving to new spectrum.

WCA told the FCC that the past 3 years it and wireless operators have cautioned MDS subscriber-to-base transmissions can’t co-exist with AWS base-to-subscriber transmissions at 2110-2150 MHz. WCA’s concerns center on MDS licensees at 2150-2162 MHz. The order “appears to suggest for the first time that AWS can be deployed at 2110-2155 MHz before relocation of neighboring MDS stations is complete,” WCA said. The order “throws the evidence aside and, with no technical analysis whatsoever, rejects the call for special measures to protect MDS upstream transmissions from interference caused by adjacent AWS downstream transmissions,” the group said. Citing ambiguous language in the order, WCA argued AWS licensees could conclude they weren’t obligated to do anything beyond comply with the standard spectral mask for broadband PCS, “regardless of whether adjacent MDS licensees suffer interference.”

The order’s “superficial treatment of the AWS/MDS interference issue is a cold irony for the MDS industry,” WCA said. The group said MDS licensees had tried to cooperate with the FCC to relocate them from 2150-2162 MHz to new spectrum to free up 2150-2155 MHz for AWS. WCA noted the FCC had formally reallocated this spectrum for 3G without earmarking replacement spectrum for displaced MDS operators. “The Commission has added insult to injury by summarily adopting an inadequate spectral mask for AWS licensees at 2110-2155 MHz, thus leaving adjacent MDS licensees with no replacement spectrum and perhaps less interference protection than what they had before the Commission’s AWS proceedings began,” it said. WCA urged the FCC to at least impose on AWS licenses “an absolute obligation to protect MDS from interference, as it has already required of MSS ATC operations at 2483.5-2500 MHz,” WCA said. Ultimately, WCA said, the problem of potential harmful interference can be solved only by relocating MDS.

In its petition on the 30 MHz E Block, T-Mobile argued any bidders wanting blocks larger than 20 MHz could aggregate 2 or more smaller blocks at auction or in the secondary market. The FCC has focused on bandwidth dimensions that could be used as part of a “building block” approach for carriers to buy only the spectrum needed for individual operations. “The Commission’s current band plan, however, is not optimally suited to the needs of those existing PCS and cellular carriers, such as T-Mobile, seeking smaller spectrum licenses in many cases to adapt to changing market forces,” T-Mobile said. “By comparison, the cost of aggregating smaller spectrum blocks in any given market would be marginal and the burden would be much less onerous than the divestiture of unwanted spectrum.”

Council Tree Communications, in another petition for reconsideration, took issue with the FCC’s not setting aside any AWS licenses for bidding only by smaller businesses. In the case of broadband PCS auctions, the FCC had set aside certain bands only for bidding by designated entities. “Without enforcing eligibility limitations for a portion of the AWS bandplan, therefore, the Commission has not provided the same meaningful opportunities for smaller businesses as it did in the case of broadband PCS,” Council Tree said. The company urged the FCC to limit bidding eligibility for licenses in the AWS D Block to small or very small businesses. “If the Commission still declines to establish a set-aside for AWS, Council Tree urges it to offer a 35% bidding credit here,” the company said. In the past, Council Tree said the FCC has provided increased bidding credits to offset the absence of other designated entity preferences. Council Tree was among the backers of NextWave reauction bidder Alaska Native Wireless.

Powerwave asked the FCC to reconsider the part of the service rules involving the peak power output of AWS at 2110- 2155 MHz. The FCC had said it intended to adopt the same power limit for AWS that applies to broadband PCS systems. The language in the AWS service rules, however, doesn’t track these power limit provisions, setting one that’s actually much more restrictive than broadband PCs, said Powerwave, which makes radio frequency power amplifiers.

Separately, BellSouth told the FCC in a recent filing that any replacement spectrum chosen for MDS in this band should have: (1) A center of frequency at or below the current 2.1 GHz allocation. Frequencies much above this range provide less coverage due to propagation differences. (2) A configuration of at least 5 MHz blocks, preferably adjacent. (3) Have the same or fewer restrictions on height, patterns, coordination. (4) No additional restrictions on adjacent band interference due to the presence of other carriers.