FCC Takes Steps to Clear Spectrum for Advanced Services
Chmn. Powell said Thurs. he hasn’t decided whether the Commission should take steps on its own to clear the 1.7 GHz spectrum occupied by the Dept. of Defense if Congress fails to pass the spectrum relocation trust fund bill (HR-1320). The comments came after the Commission approved 5-0 a “clean up” order that addresses some of the remaining parts of clearing the spectrum, which ultimately is to be auctioned for advanced wireless services (AWS).
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“We've been waiting for the relocation thing to finish, but we felt that we could go ahead and take care of our piece and maybe that would help stimulate the completion of that legislation,” Powell said as he left the meeting. Asked specifically if the FCC would clear the spectrum on its own if the bill fails to pass, Powell answered: “To be honest, I don’t know yet. We're still working on that.”
NTIA Dir. Michael Gallagher told us he expected the Senate to approve the relocation fund bill during the upcoming lame duck session. “The lame duck session of Congress is typically where a number of things like that are cleaned up,” he said. “We've made good progress on that over the last couple of weeks. We'll go through the election process and we'll certainly put forth our best effort.”
Gallagher predicted a swift response if Congress doesn’t approve the legislation, which was hammered out over many months by industry, govt., Congress, regulators and other interested parties. The bill previously passed the House but has languished in the Senate. “We reevaluate options very quickly,” he said. “We don’t want to lose the opportunity with the spectrum or waste anytime.” Gallagher said existing rules would allow the FCC to auction the spectrum absent the bill, but that would be “vastly sub-optimal relative to the legislation.”
The Commission previously allocated the 1710-1755 MHz and 2110-2155 MHz bands for AWS. The Wireless Bureau also must act on a reconsideration petition on service rules for an auction. Carrier sources said that making more spectrum available will relieve what is a spectrum crunch for some national carriers.
The legislation has stalled in the Senate with Sen. Stevens (R-Alaska) insisting that some relocation monies support E-911 rollout. In late Sept., Majority Leader Frist (R-Tenn.) convened a staff-level meeting to discuss strategies for moving the bill (CD Oct 4 p5).
One industry source said the AWS spectrum is the only “big block” expected to be made available through auction in the near future: “We think the legislation is alive,” the source said. “Everyone, including Sen. Stevens, wants to get it done. That’s the encouraging part.” The problem is that this late in the session complicating factors like the E911 tie-in can be enough to sink a bill, the source added.
The Defense Dept. also is ready to move if compensated, the source said. “DoD is good planners,” the source said: “This has been talked about for years. They've known they would have to give it up.” One complicating factor is that if the bill is delayed the transition costs will only become more expensive with time.