Nextel accused Verizon Wireless of trying to ‘derail’ FCC conside...
Nextel accused Verizon Wireless of trying to “derail” FCC consideration of Nextel’s consensus plan aimed at resolving concerns about 800 MHz interference. In an April 22 ex parte letter, Nextel told the FCC that 2 Verizon Wireless suggestions --…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
“that the Commission assign Nextel replacement spectrum at 2.1 GHz rather than 1.9 GHz and its purported offer to bid $5 billion in an auction of the 1.9 GHz spectrum” -- are attempts to derail and delay the proceeding. “Verizon’s actions will cause our nation’s first responders to continue to face interrupted, garbled and unintelligible radio communications in life-threatening situations, unless the Commission sees through Verizon’s transparent tactics and acts now to adopt the consensus plan,” Nextel wrote in the letter. Nextel said there’s “almost nothing in the record” on the use of the 2.1 GHz band as replacement spectrum for Nextel so the FCC would have to develop such a record before even considering Verizon’s proposal. A Verizon Wireless spokesman said the company hasn’t advocated 2.1 GHz and discussed it in a recent ex parte only because the FCC asked about it. In a related filing, the Assn. of Public-Safety Communications Officials International (APCO) urged the FCC to “move quickly to resolve any lingering issues” so it can adopt the consensus plan. The issue has been pending for more than 2 years “during which time interference problems have continued to threaten the safety of first responders and the public they serve,” APCO said.