Frontline Faces Heavy Criticism in 700 MHz Comments
Frontline’s plan was generally panned in reams of comments filed on the proposed rules for the 700 MHz band. The plan “requires substantial revision,” said the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council (NPSTC). It’s not a “good idea to adopt service rules which essentially replicate one carrier’s business plan,” especially one “which has not worked in the past,” said U.S. Cellular.
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Frontline fired back at Verizon Wireless for opposing open access in the band: “Verizon’s lost iPhone opportunity should provide a cautionary tale, Verizon’s customers will have to wait 5 years to use an iPhone… Waiting and waiting is not an answer when the emergency alarms go off,” Frontline said in an e-mail. That is, with open access, Verizon wouldn’t lose customers who want to use iPhones. In its comments, backed by a report written by hired economists (CD May 23 p1), Frontline said it wants the FCC to require open access on all spectrum owned by the eventual E-block licensee. Open access promotes competition and innovation in wireless technology and services, it said.
In addition to wanting changes to the Frontline plan, the NPSTC wants the FCC to designate a public-safety licensee to control the 24 MHz of spectrum and to work with the E- block licensee. NPSTC would like specific rules, but since time is short it will settle for the public-safety licensee drafting “a statement of requirements” available to all prospective bidders for the E-block, it said. If the public- safety licensee and the E-block licensee can’t agree, the matter shouldn’t go to binding arbitration, it said: “At least as to the operation of the network in public-safety spectrum, the public safety licensee must have the last word.”
AT&T’s comments reflected the its position as an incumbent wireless and broadband provider: It doesn’t want the FCC to impose eligibility restrictions to participate in the auction, wholesale requirements, or stringent buildout rules -- but does want the Commission to allow for combinatorial bidding. The incumbent cable providers, filing as part of their joint agreement known as SpectrumCo, also oppose strict buildout requirements, but they don’t want combinatorial bidding. Rural cellular carries, which originally proposed a “keep what you use” rule, stressed this again in comments filed by the Rural Cellular Assn.
The FCC should be striving to foster competition, and open access is a way to do that, said the Center for Democracy & Technology: Whatever one may think about concepts like ‘Internet neutrality’ or ‘open access’ in the wireline context, the limited and high-value spectrum at issue in this auction presents a different case.”
A nationwide interoperable data public-safety network will never be built, said the Ohio Regional Planning Committee (ORPC). Reflecting the disagreement over wideband vs. broadband, ORPC said it was already planning to use wideband. Wideband is a based on a TIA standard but most of the technology is owned by Motorola. The vendor worked for years on the standard with public safety.