Sprint Says 800 MHz Rules Must Allow Spectrum Sharing with Canada
Sprint Nextel told the FCC revised rules for the 800 MHz reconfiguration along the Canadian border must take into account the carrier’s spectrum sharing with Telus, the largest holder of 800 MHz spectrum in Canada. The Enterprise Wireless Alliance (EWA) said quick resolution of border questions is crucial for providers that have faced years of uncertainty.
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!
The FCC Homeland Security Bureau sought comments on changes needed to 800 MHz band plans to accommodate the reconfiguration. Border issues were identified as among the toughest when the FCC approved the landmark reconfiguration order more than three years ago (CD Aug 10/04 p2). The U.S. has settled differences with Canada. Negotiations continue with Mexico.
Sprint reminded the FCC that the company makes extensive use of Canadian primary spectrum via a special coordination procedure (SCP) between the U.S. and Canada. The agreement has meant increased network capacity for Telus and Sprint and “seamless cross-border roaming” for customers, Sprint said. “It is absolutely critical to 800 MHz band reconfiguration that Sprint Nextel and Telus each continue to be able to share the other’s 800 MHz spectrum pursuant to the SCP or comparable agreements,” Sprint said. “This continued sharing is also critical to the provision of advanced wireless services to millions of wireless communications users in both countries.”
EWA, representing businesses using the spectrum, service providers and equipment makers, said 800 MHz licensees elsewhere in the U.S. have had a band plan since August 2004, a certainty those in the border region still lack. “The Alliance considers it essential that this matter be resolved expeditiously so that incumbents operating in the border regions do not fall even further behind their counterparts in the rest of the county in completing what has proven to be the complex, time-consuming and sometimes difficult process of reconfiguring their systems to a different part of the 800 MHz band,” EWA said.
Meanwhile, public safety groups voiced general support for the revised plan as long as it “provides licensees with comparable spectrum assignments, maintains consistency with non-border area frequency assignments to the extent possible, and retains common mutual aid channels,” they said. The comments were signed by the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials, the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the International Association of Fire Chiefs.
The groups said the FCC must heed concerns raised by public safety in the border states. “Most of these states have or are deploying substantial state-wide 800 MHz band public safety networks that provide critical interoperability for first responders,” the groups said. “New band plans must accommodate those essential radio systems and future deployments.”