Despite calls for an earlier date and hints at delay, the DTV transition will occur Feb. 17, 2009, Hill staffers and lobbyists said in recent interviews. The focus now is NTIA implementation, specifically the converter box coupon program, soon to be out for public bid. NTIA Dir. John Kneuer said the rules will appear in a few weeks, pending Office of Management & Budget (OMB) clearance (see related story).
Wireless Spectrum Auctions
The FCC manages and licenses the electromagnetic spectrum used by wireless, broadcast, satellite and other telecommunications services for government and commercial users. This activity includes organizing specific telecommunications modes to only use specific frequencies and maintaining the licensing systems for each frequency such that communications services and devices using different bands receive as little interference as possible.
What are spectrum auctions?
The FCC will periodically hold auctions of unused or newly available spectrum frequencies, in which potential licensees can bid to acquire the rights to use a specific frequency for a specific purpose. As an example, over the last few years the U.S. government has conducted periodic auctions of different GHz bands to support the growth of 5G services.
Wireless issues are expected to come to the fore at the FCC the next few months. Most early matters follow up on items in the works last year. Preparation for the 700 MHz auction, federal vs. state jurisdiction over early termination fees (ETF), and rules governing carrier protection of customer proprietary network information (CPNI) head most lists of issues likely to get attention soon.
SpectrumCo, a consortium of Sprint Nextel and the major cable operators, indicated in a filing at the FCC its strong interest in 700 MHz spectrum when that auction occurs later this year. In a paper, SpectrumCo said if the FCC wants a successful auction it should offer a wide variety of licenses, large and small. SpectrumCo, a top bidder in Auction 66 for advanced wireless services, likely needs more spectrum to offer a robust wireless product, sources said.
LAS VEGAS -- Liberty Media’s pending purchase of News Corp.’s majority stake in DirecTV could improve its relations with EchoStar, but chances of a merger are remote pending completion of the deal, EchoStar CEO Charles Ergen told a news conference here Mon. EchoStar lost a bidding war for DirecTV to News Corp. nearly 4 years ago, but if Liberty is the new owner options exist for sharing backhaul, delivery of backhaul and backup satellites, Ergen said.
MetroPCS cited a suit by designated entities as a risk factor in filing last week for an IPO at the SEC. The DEs want the 3rd U.S. Appeals Court, Philadelphia, to overturn the 2006 advanced wireless services auction. The regional carrier filed for a $1.1 billion IPO; it will use the money to enter markets in which it won AWS licenses, it said. The auction saw MetroPCS bid nearly $1.4 billion for 8 licenses, making it a surprise among the top bidders.
The FCC should change its stance and declare that when TV “white spaces” are available, they will be offered for purely unlicensed use and not sold in a Commission spectrum auction, the Media Access Project, New America Foundation and allies said. The Champaign Urbana Wireless Network also joined a petition for reconsideration filed at the FCC.
The video franchising proposal set for the Dec. 20 FCC agenda meeting is a top priority for FCC Chmn. Martin, he told a Thurs. Practising Law Institute Telecommunications Policy & Regulation conference. The proposal, which would make it easier for wireline entrants to provide video service like cable’s, deals directly with the “continual increase in cable prices,” Martin said. Other communications service prices have dropped, but there’s been an “almost 100% rise in cable prices” since 1996,” he told the group, calling the only brake on cable price rises competition from “wireline overbuilders.” Entry by more facilities-based video providers is “critical for broadband” buildout as well, he said. Delay caused by franchising authorities inhibits broadband infrastructure development, Martin told the group. Martin, who spoke in a “conversation” with communications attorney Richard Wiley, indicated he isn’t sure how parts of the franchising order will come out. “I hope we will be able to work through the issues,” he said. In answer to our post- session question, Martin said he never knows exactly how orders will play out in the week before an agenda meeting. But the bottom line is that he’s not concerned about the order passing, he said. But sources said the franchising item may be delayed to work out contentious issues. Some say there isn’t time to deal with both the franchising order and the AT&T-BellSouth merger right now. The franchising item probably will be pulled from the agenda, said a Commission official and industry sources. Among issues that may take require more consideration is the draft order’s provision that telcos don’t need to build out video systems to areas of towns they don’t already serve, we're told. An agency official said: “If it stays on the agenda this is going to be one of those where everyone stays here until 5 a.m. [on the morning of the meeting] haggling over the language.” -- EH, JM
U.K. and Irish telecom regulators will coordinate 2 radio spectrum license auctions in the spring, they said Thurs. The licenses, one to operate in each country, are for the 1785-1805MHz band, said the U.K. Office of Communications and Commission for Communication Regulation in the Republic of Ireland. Possible uses of the spectrum include wireless broadband access, mobile broadcast, video links and extra capacity for mobile services.
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 Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy urged the FCC to allocate a “substantial portion” of the 700 MHz spectrum to small license areas, likelier than others to be bought by small carriers. The 700 MHz spectrum will become available after the DTV transition, and the agency is considering the scope of the licenses it will auction. “Small license areas give more flexibility for tailoring wireless coverage, encourage more rapid build-out of licenses, encourage build-out in rural areas, and often receive higher bids ‘per pop’ in the license area,” SBA said.