800 MHz Rebanding Remains Contentious
Sprint Nextel accused other 800 MHz licensees of trying to gain advantage through band plan changes ostensibly fixing 800 MHz rebanding issues at the U.S.-Canada border. Sprint told the FCC that licensees moved must receive comparable, not better, spectrum. Public safety groups, meanwhile, warned of delays and questioned Sprint’s earlier claim that more agreements must be negotiated between the U.S. and Canada to complete the rebanding.
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Border issues are among the rebanding program’s most troublesome issues. In the 800 MHz band, channels along the U.S./Canada border can be on either side of the line, allocated for use by licensees there. For example, in one of the eight regions, about 30 percent of channels are allocated for U.S., use versus 70 percent in another region, according to one source.
Sprint wants all licensees treated equitably. “The proposed U.S. Canada band plans must provide that all parties… have access to the same amount of spectrum on which they currently operate,” Sprint said in a filing. “Cavalier suggestions that Sprint Nextel simply surrender additional channels or be moved entirely to 900 MHz channels are unacceptable and cannot be supported.” Sprint took particular aim at Michigan-based utility Consumers Energy. “Under Consumers’ latest proposal, Consumers would clearly stand to benefit by taking 800 MHz spectrum directly from Sprint Nextel (at no cost) that it would not be able to obtain otherwise even though it chose not to purchase this same spectrum on the secondary market despite being one of the ‘nation’s largest electric and natural gas utilities,'” Sprint said.
Sprint’s demand for more agreements with Canada was attacked by the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials, the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the International Association of Fire Chiefs. “The public safety organizations are very concerned that such additional international treaty negotiations would create substantial delays in the initiation and completion of rebanding along the Canadian border,” the groups said. “The Commission needs to take every reasonable step possible to expedite rebanding and not allow border areas to lag even further behind the rest of the nation.”
The Utilities Telecom Council also stressed the need to treat licensees fairly. Many of its members outside border regions are done rebanding, it said. “It is vital that ‘Wave 4’ licensees operating in the Canadian border regions have the same access to reliable, interference-free frequencies as licensees in non-border areas to the extent possible given the smaller amount of spectrum available for U.S. use,” the group said.
The FCC may address these matters as soon as January, sources said. “Obviously, everyone is happy they're coming to agreements with Canada,” said a lawyer active in the effort. “We all know Mexico is going to be more difficult, and I don’t think there has been much progress.”