Nokia and SunCom Wireless backed a proposal by T- Mobile and Rura...

have the FCC divide the 30 MHz E-Block (1740-1755 MHz paired with 2140-2155 MHz) licenses into 3 parts, incorporating them into a modified AWS band plan. It would retain the A, B and C Blocks (1710-1735 MHz paired with 2110-2135 MHz) as originally proposed in the FCC order and consistent with the T-Mobile-RTG proposal. Nokia had supported a band plan of either 3 licenses of 2x15 MHz or 3 licenses of 2x10 MHz and one license of 2x15 MHz. But it told the FCC last week “in light of today’s current market conditions, Nokia can support a band plan that does not contain any 30 MHz blocks.” SunCom Wireless agreed, saying “the Commission’s existing AWS E-Block should be adapted to reflect changed market conditions.” The modified band plan would create “realistic opportunities for regional and local carriers operating in smaller and underserved markets to offer their subscribers new advanced services,” it said. SunCom “strongly” disagreed with some arguments by Cingular (CD May 16 p5), which opposed T-Mobile-RTG’s proposed division of a 20 MHz block of spectrum in the existing E Block into two 10 MHz paired blocks to be licensed, respectively, on an REAG and an EA basis. Cingular expressed concern that this modification of the existing E Block would result in inefficient use of spectrum and increased interference, saying 2x10 MHz blocks are the minimum required to support current AWS technologies. “Even if Cingular is correct in suggesting that some higher bandwidth, wireless broadband applications require such wide channels, these high bandwidth applications are not the only valuable AWS services that carriers may offer,” SunCom said. It and other regional and rural wireless carriers could be “foreclosed” from offering advanced voice and data services if most of the licenses available are “unaffordable and uneconomical for all but the largest carriers,” SunCom said. According to SunCom, Cingular failed to explain why or how division of the existing E Block into 10 MHz licenses would exacerbate interference: “There should be no meaningful difference between the engineering practices required under the existing band plan or the joint proposal’s modified plan to protect against both in-band and out-of-band interference.” Responding to a Cingular statement that the proposed E and F Blocks’ location at the top of the bands and the geographic designations proposed by T-Mobile and RTG would make it difficult to aggregate noncontiguous blocks in the AWS bands, SunCom said: “The serious obstacles that a wide variety of new and incumbent carriers would face in the absence of affordable spectrum blocks far outweigh any minor difficulties that nationwide carriers may encounter in aggregating spectrum under the flexible, modified band plan suggested in the joint proposal, especially given the large regional 20 MHz A and B Blocks already available under the Commission’s proposal.” The T-Mobile/RTG proposal also has support from U.S. Cellular and Ericsson. Cingular has said it supports parts of the proposal that would convert the D block into a 20 MHz license by taking 10 MHz of spectrum from the E Block, and retain the RCA/MSA designation. Meanwhile, in meetings with FCC officials, T-Mobile has been pushing for “expeditious” action on its proposal, stressing that “the wireless market and U.S. consumers will benefit substantially if the AWS spectrum is auctioned as early as possible in 2006.”