The departure of Gary Forsee as CEO of Sprint Nextel is expected to have little effect on the 800 MHz rebanding, which is entering its critical end stages. Acting CEO Paul Saleh will have to make a nearly immediate decision about whether to appeal a Sept. 11 FCC decision imposing new 800 MHz rebanding requirements on the carrier. Sprint announced Monday that Forsee was leaving immediately and a special committee of its board would search for a successor.
AT&T agreed to pay $2.5 billion for lower-band 700 MHz spectrum accumulated by Aloha Partners. The move gives AT&T a key toehold in the band ahead of the January 700 MHz auction. AT&T gets 12 MHz of spectrum covering 196 million people in 281 markets, including the top 10 U.S. markets and 72 of the nation’s 100 largest markets. Aloha, parent of mobile TV company HiWire, had planned to use its 700 MHz holdings for a nationwide mobile TV service or for wireless broadband. HiWire has had a trial of the mobile TV service running in Las Vegas in cooperation with T-Mobile. Aloha bought most of the spectrum in FCC auctions in 2001 and 2003. Aloha founder Charlie Townsend, a telecom industry veteran, earlier built up Atlantic Cellular Company, selling it in 1998 to Rural Cellular Corp. AT&T, the nation’s largest wireless carrier, has been beefing up its wireless portfolio, agreeing in June to pay $2.8 billion for small carrier Dobson. “Customer demand for mobile services, including voice, data and video, is continually increasing,” said Forrest Miller, group president-corporate strategy and development at AT&T: “Aloha’s spectrum will enable AT&T to efficiently meet this growing demand and help our customers stay connected to their worlds.” The buy’s net impact remains to be seen, Stifel Nicolaus said. “If AT&T’s strategy is to deepen its holdings in the lower band, today’s announcement is potentially bad news for rural carriers, regional carriers, or Qualcomm,” the firm said in a research note. “If AT&T is content with the 12 MHz of spectrum or retains its sights on the upper band, today’s announcement is good news for the regional and rural carriers, and Qualcomm, which have lost Aloha as a competitive bidder.” The announcement also reduces the incentive for AT&T to bid for the 10 MHz D block in the coming 700 MHz auction, the firm said.
The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology has committed to a second round of tests on devices designed to operate in the broadcast white spaces, supporters and opponents said Friday. OET called in representatives of the sides for a meeting Friday afternoon, and officials said they would do field and lab tests like the ones done earlier this year on any devices submitted.
The FCC is giving wireless and wireline carriers a break on installing backup power at critical facilities, but not as big as industry wanted. An FCC order, released Thursday, warns carriers not to enter agreements just to avoid having to install backup power (CD Oct 2 p1). The FCC adopted the requirement in its followup to Hurricane Katrina. Six groups had filed petitions for reconsideration challenging the backup power mandate.
The FCC should offer TV white spaces spectrum, but only in an auction for fixed use, especially wireless backhaul, the Rural Telecommunications Group and FiberTower said. Their white paper contradicts proposals by Microsoft, Dell and other high-tech companies, which call for the spectrum to be made available unlicensed for mobile devices. Other groups and companies, including Sprint Nextel, also are starting to tell the FCC that the best use for the spectrum is wireless backhaul. They call that use critical to support buildout of cell towers needed as advanced wireless service and 700 MHz spectrum goes on line.
Members of the FCC’s Commercial Mobile Service Alert Advisory Committee clashed Wednesday on whether their final report specifically should state that carriers may pass on to consumers some costs tied to sending alerts to cellphones, including handset upgrades. The provision passed after sharp debate. The committee, mandated by the Warn Act, approved a final report on broadcast of emergency alerts to cellphones. The report goes to the FCC, which is to issue a rulemaking seeking further comment.
Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., said Tuesday he would be willing to withdraw legislation that would force the FCC to act on an order opening the white spaces to unlicensed use, if the FCC moves forward without a congressional push. But Inslee said he’s ready to revive his bill if the commission doesn’t move quickly to approve a white spaces order. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin had indicated a vote could come as early as the October meeting, which hasn’t been scheduled. Martin has since indicated a vote may have to be pushed past month’s end (CD Sept 27 p1).
Leap Wireless and MetroPCS filed petitions for reconsideration at the FCC, asking the agency to change provisions in its roaming rule under which a carrier doesn’t have to honor a request from another carrier with spectrum holdings in a particular market. T-Mobile also filed late Monday.
The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia handed down what amounts to a nondecision in a Council Tree lawsuit against the FCC that could have overturned the advanced wireless services auction. The court said it lacks jurisdiction because Council Tree filed its challenge before the auction order was final. The decision left the firm free to mount another challenge, and Council Tree indicated it will pursue its case against the FCC.
FCC Commissioner Michael Copps remains a “believer” in the benefits of using the broadcast white spaces for wireless broadband, but he still needs to be persuaded that the use of portable devices won’t interfere with the DTV transition, he told reporters Thursday. Copps also expressed strong support for holding an en banc hearing of the commission to examine early termination fees imposed by wireless carriers and other companies that the agency regulates.