COLUMBIA, Md. -- The FCC’s lab started a second round of testing Thursday morning to see whether devices for wireless Internet access using the TV white spaces can operate without interfering with TV broadcasts or wireless microphones. About 20 industry officials, lawyers and engineers on both sides of the question watched the start of the tests and asked technical questions of the companies that had submitted prototype devices. The debate continued even as the lab went to work.
Consumers Union started a campaign this week demanding that wireless carriers provide details on promises to rebate early termination fees and open their networks to other devices. CTIA President Steve Largent responded with a letter to CU President Jim Gest saying increased regulation would do little to help consumers and asking for CU support on critical issues faced by carriers.
Carriers who challenged the “home roaming” exclusion in automatic roaming rules approved last summer by the FCC say inaction on their concerns adds uncertainty for the 700 MHz auction that began Thursday. The rule’s practical impact is that another carrier need not honor a roaming request by a counterpart with spectrum in a particular market, even if that spectrum is not cleared for use. If small carriers fear they won’t be able to sign roaming deals due to 700 MHz purchases they are less likely to participate enthusiastically in the auction, sources said.
After the first two rounds of bidding late Thursday, auction participants had made $2.8 billion in provisional winning bids, up $350 million from round one, as the long- awaited 700 MHz auction started. At least one company bid for the nationwide D-block public safety license, the one pursued by Frontline Wireless before the company announced it wouldn’t take part in the auction. But at $472 million, the bid for the D-block is well below the $1.3 billion reserve price set by the commission.
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin circulated an order on the eve of the 700 MHz auction approving AT&T’s purchase of lower band 700 MHz spectrum from Aloha Partners for $2.5 billion. Martin asked other offices to vote Wednesday evening so approvals are done before the auction starts. AT&T is expected to be a key player in the 700 MHz auction. The company did not request expedited commission action, an AT&T spokesman said.
The 700 MHz auction begins today (Thursday) on a note of pessimism among many observers since it starts during a week when U.S. markets have fallen sharply spurred by fears of recession. Credit markets were already tight. Sources said economic uncertainty has exacerbated concerns that no new major spectrum players will emerge from the auction, despite FCC pressure. Concern also has been raised that most of the spectrum will be gobbled up by incumbents and bidders won’t bid enough to meet the high reserve prices set for the auction.
The Supreme Court refused Tuesday to hear an appeal by Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile of an 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision voiding a March 2005 FCC truth-in-billing order (CD Aug 2/06 p1). The Atlanta ruling was deemed a major setback for wireless carriers and a win for NARUC and NASUCA, which challenged the order. The FCC said state mandates or bans on line items in mobile carrier bills constitute rate regulation preempted by federal law. The Supreme Court refused the case without comment.
The FCC issued a public notice that provides a template for 800 MHz licensees to follow if they need additional time beyond a June 26 deadline to complete retuning of their radios (CD Jan 3 p5). Commission and public safety sources said many will ask for more time, though the likely number is difficult to predict. Licensees along the Canadian and Mexican borders are not covered by the same tight deadline.
A second round of tests of devices designed to operate in the TV white spaces starts Thursday, with bench tests at the FCC lab in Columbia, Md., the agency said. That four to six week phase will be open to observers. Next will come four to six weeks of Office of Engineering and Technology field tests. A final report is due within 18 weeks. The move was expected (CD Jan 18 p10). The new tests are good news, advocates of opening the white spaces as unlicensed spectrum to be used by mobile devices to access the Internet said Friday.
The D.C. Court of Appeals agreed to an expedited pleading cycle in a challenge by CTIA of an FCC mandate that cellsites and other telecom facilities usually running on local commercial power have emergency backup sources. The decision means CTIA and others in the industry should have a relatively quick decision in the case, though the actual hearing’s date is unclear. The court has yet to act on a Sprint Nextel move to stay the order while the case plays out.