Motorola wants the 800 MHz reconfiguration process itself retuned so public safety radios can be fixed even before all network retuning decisions are made. That was the message from Bill Anaya, Motorola vp govt. relations, during a Thurs. wireless panel at the Practising Law Institute. Motorola has said rebanding will require replacement or retuning or 1.2 million public safety radios, a process not yet begun. Anaya called for a “parallel track” for addressing radios.
The Commerce Dept. Spectrum Advisory Committee is making its first priority a recommendation on the long-awaited spectrum testbed, part of the band to be put aside for testing spectrum sharing. The committee also is slated to study the Wireless Accelerated Responder Network (WARN) in D.C. and similar systems with a view toward a national system.
Don’t burden the Emergency Alert System (EAS) with overly prescriptive, one-size-fits-all solutions, wireless firms told the FCC Commercial Mobile Service Alert Advisory Committee at its inaugural meeting Tues. Carrier sources said afterwards they have few fears because the WARN Act, which created the committee, makes mobile alerts voluntary and carriers can opt out if solutions aren’t practical.
FCC Comr. McDowell privately implored AT&T, as well as Comr. Copps and Adelstein, on Fri. to resume talks on the AT&T-BellSouth merger, sources said Mon. McDowell didn’t discuss the substance of the proceeding during those talks, but indicated he was concerned that negotiations had broken down as the parties awaited the decision that McDowell could ethically take part, which came down late Fri. (CD Dec 11 p1).
ANNAPOLIS -- DoD hasn’t committed to dynamic frequency selection (DFS) as a major solution to its spectrum crunch, an official said Fri. after the department’s annual Spectrum Summit here. But other speakers at the summit said DFS will have huge importance over time in ways such as allowing companies to offer services in the TV white spaces. One speaker called a recent test of a sophisticated form of DFS by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and Shared Spectrum Co. the spectrum equivalent of the Wright Brothers’ first flight.
Caller ID “spoofing,” in which wrongdoers change the data displayed in a caller ID box to gain access to someone else’s personal information, is the next big threat to wireless and wireline carriers, Sprint Nextel warned Wed. during a D.C. Bar Assn. seminar on Internet and cellphone privacy.
A proposal by the Alfred Mann Foundation (AMF) that the FCC allocate spectrum beyond the 5 MHz planned for a new MedRadio band was supported by other medical institutions in comments filed at the agency. In July, the FCC proposed a new service for medical devices in the 401-406 MHz band, adding 2 MHz to that already allotted to the medical implant communications service (MICS) band. AMF said more spectrum would help stroke and other patients gain the benefits wireless wideband microstimulator systems designed to work as an artificial nervous system (CD Nov 3 p5).
Operators still face heavy time pressures despite the FCC extending to 2010 from 2007 a buildout deadline for wireless communications service (WCS) operators, said Paul Sinderbrand, counsel to the Wireless Communications Assn. (WCA). Before buildout can begin, however, the FCC must release long-awaited rules for digital audio radio service (DARS) repeaters used by XM and Sirius to extend their reach, WCA said. Satellite radio operators and WCS licensees occupy adjoining frequencies.
The Bush Administration rebuffed efforts to participate in the current ITU Plenipot by industry officials who gave to Democrats, multiple sources said. The Bush White House had relaxed pressure to exclude Democrats on such international delegations, but that pressure revived as the election neared, the sources said. Administration insistence on political purity of participants in a nonpolitical conference likely will be the subject of Hill oversight as Democrats resume control of Congress next year.
MSTV asked the FCC to make changes to its Oct. 12 order clearing Qualcomm to offer high quality video on licenses it owns in the 700-MHz band through subsidiary MediaFLO. The filing continues a longstanding conflict between Qualcomm and broadcasters over use of channel 55. Qualcomm declined to respond Thurs., but a company source said it would answer MSTV next week in a filing.