Cyren Call will be forced to turn to Congress after the FCC rejected its bid for an order reallocating 700 MHz spectrum, now slated to be sold at auction, to a 30 MHz public safety broadband network. In a surprise twist, the FCC’s Public Safety Bureau formally rejected the petition late Fri., just days after the agency put Cyren Call’s petition for rulemaking out for comment. CTIA last week had urged the FCC to immediately dismiss the petition.
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.
Canadian cable operators are considering whether to bid on 1.7 GHz AWS spectrum that the Canadian govt. plans to auction within 18 months, said a regulator and an executive. Shaw Communications believes the spectrum probably would work well with WiMAX, said Pres. Peter Bissonnette. The company, Canada’s number 2 cable operator, is considering whether to bid, though its interest isn’t high, he said. Other cable operators appear interested in participating in an upcoming auction for 90 MHz of the spectrum, said Peter Hill, the Dept. of Industry’s spectrum management operations dir. The 1.7 GHz to be auctioned is paired with 2.1 GHz, he said.
E. LANSING, Mich. -- The once-sharp distinctions between telecom and media are blurring as digital telecom devices and services develop into a delivery vehicle for radio, movies, TV channels and games, FCC Comr. Tate told a Michigan State U. audience Tues. She said every day sees some new development in wireless and Internet video, in technology or market concepts, that blurs the line a bit more.
TV stations can take a page from competitors’ playbooks by offering interactive services and transmitting higher quality signals using an approach taken by wireless companies, said Assn. for Maximum Service TV Pres. David Donovan. Facing stiff competition from cable and the web, broadcasters want the FCC to ensure viewers don’t encounter interference from devices using so-called white space they'll vacate after the DTV transition (CD Oct 19 p1), Donovan told us. The industry is entering a “renaissance” in which viewership trends may reverse course and climb, he said.
A group representing a wide range of regional carriers, rural carriers and state regulators gave the FCC their version of a plan for the Commission to divide up spectrum licenses for the upcoming 700 MHz auction. The auction proposal, submitted as the Balanced Consensus Proposal, calls for 22 MHz of the 700 MHz spectrum to be set aside for small licenses, 20 MHz for midsized licenses and the remaining 18 MHz for large regional licenses. Signatories include Alltel, U.S. Cellular, Leap, MetroPCS and Dobson, as well as the Rural Telecom Group and NTCA. In a filing at the Commission, they called the proposal “a sound and balanced approach that will provide for a mix of licenses of varying sizes and geographic regions, which in turn will facilitate the competitive and rapid deployment of innovative wireless services in the 700 MHz bands.”.
Wireless operators’ demand for space on broadcast towers will remain strong as new spectrum licensees begin to deploy service, tower industry officials told us. Broadcasters that own towers typically lease extra space to other tenants such as cellular carriers and FM stations.
Rules the FCC is developing for the 700 MHz band auction will require the Commission to decide whether to impose tough “use it or lose it” requirements, and whether to offer some spectrum in chunks small carriers can afford to buy and use. Both questions were fiercely debated in reply comments to the FCC, pitting groups of rural carriers against their large, national competitors. The auction, expected in late 2007, will offer some of the most eagerly awaited spectrum in FCC history.
Cingular has completed the integration of its and AT&T Wireless’s historic GSM networks, almost 2 years after the completion of the 2 carriers’ merger in Oct. 2004, Cingular officials said Thurs. during a call with analysts. Cingular completed the integration of the merger partners’ TDMA networks last year. Cingular officials also said they were generally pleased with how the company fared in the recent AWS auction.
An FCC spokesman disputed a contention that the Commission has dropped the ball on promoting muni wireless and carried out none of the recommendations of its Wireless Broadband Access Task Force. Dewayne Hendricks -- a member of the FCC’s Technological Advisory Council and the CEO of a wireless broadband company -- made the accusation at a Silicon Valley meeting late Tues. (CD Oct 19 p4). His criticism of Commission activity went back years. But he saved his harshest words for Chmn. Martin, who has headed the FCC since March 2005 and whom Hendricks derided as a “waste of space.” FCC spokesman Clyde Ensslin didn’t comment on that characterization Thurs. “The Commission’s rules provide the flexibility that allows the deployment of both licensed and unlicensed networks, [so] public and private organizations and service providers can choose from among the range of options that best meet local needs,” he said concerning municipal wireless. The Martin Commission has taken several actions consistent with the Feb. 2005 recommendations of the task force, Ensslin said. He listed the recent AWS spectrum auction; the 700 MHz band auction planned next year; action on BRS/EBS rules for the 2.5 MHz band; making available 255 MHz in the 5 GHz band; resolving technical matters on the TV “white spaces”; and completing rules on BPL service, which can have a wireless piece. Ensslin declined to discuss which actions fulfilled specific task-force recommendations. He also wouldn’t discuss the likelihood that Hendricks will be reappointed to the Council when his term runs out at year-end -- a possibility that Hendricks discounted.
FCC Comr. McDowell said he hopes public safety will make greater use of commercial technologies and networks. He was kicking off a 3G Americas symposium Wed. that included several demonstrations of ways that applications provided by wireless carriers help police, firefighters and other first responders. Public safety agencies have relied mainly on equipment and systems designed specifically for their use.