POWELL SAYS FCC CONSIDERING SEPT. VOTE ON PROPOSED H-BLOCK AUCTION
FCC Chmn. Powell confirmed Wed. the FCC is considering an order that would establish an auction for H-band spectrum. Powell said he was aware of industry efforts to head off the auction. A group of carriers were at the FCC last week to argue that the use of the spectrum would lead to unacceptable levels of interference.
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!
“It’s something we definitely are actively considering and discussing,” Powell told reporters Wed.: “We're still thinking through [industry concerns], and I think this is what the process is for, people express concerns. We'll evaluate the concerns and decide whether it’s right to do it. If we can get those resolved in time for Sept., we will. If not, we'll do it at another point.”
Wireless carriers met with top FCC staff last week to discuss technical concerns about a possible auction (CD Aug 3 p2). “We've been in a dialogue with them as have others on some of the technical issues,” a carrier source said. “They're pretty technical issues. It’s a good thing they're taking the time to think about it.” Nextel supported an auction in separate meetings at the Commission.
On other issues, Powell told reporters he still hoped to release the 800 MHz rebanding order this week. Staff have said in recent days the odds are 50/50 it will be completed before the Assn. of Public-Safety Communications Officials meeting starts Sun. in Montreal. “We'll try,” Powell said: “It’s a very hard, big item… I'd love to hand it down by then but I can’t say that we will.”
Powell said he regretted the leak of a letter seeking compromise with the 2 FCC commissioners who dissented from the interim UNE order (CD Aug 4 p1). “I can’t get into the details” of the initiative, he said: “All I can say is all we're doing is making an effort to find a bipartisan consensus to tackle this difficult issue in an expeditious way… so that the Commission can move in the most unified way possible.”
Powell added: “If the Commission has any hope of doing this quickly, [members need] to be very cooperative with each other and working really well together as it moves forward because it’s going to be very challenging to try to get permanent rules done.”