Subject: [NEXTEL-1] SCHWANINGER & ASSOCIATES: The One, The Only, Washington Weasel

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 28 Jan 2003 23:33:53 -0500

Nextel deserves a spot here.......
http://www.sa-lawyers.net/weasel.html

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SCHWANINGER & ASSOCIATES, P.C.

PRESENTS

The One,

The Only

WASHINGTON WEASEL

CATCH 'IM IF YOU CAN!

?QUESTIONS? CONTACT Robert
H. Schwaninger, Jr.

Welcome
to The Washington Weasel, a wholly-owned service of Schwaninger &
Associates. This portion of our web page is devoted to commentary, opinion,
humor and general fooling around. You see, we believe that you can practice
law and have a sense of humor too. In fact, given the antics of the Federal
Communications Commission, Congress and the other branches of our government,
laughter might be the best medicine for some of the bureaucratic nonsense
that passes as thoughtful legislation.

Remember,
The Washington Weasel is just for FUN. Persons attempting to take seriously
anything published on this site will be immediately told to lighten up!!
If you or your company, agency or organization are teased, be flattered
we even noticed that you've drawn a breath lately. Self-important jerks
who can't take it are recommended to try a different form of amusement,
like sitting in front of a mirror repeating "I am important...I am important..."

If
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of ours.

Verizon
Whiners

December
2, 2002 Verizon has now gotten back its upfront money and had cancelled
all obligations arising under its participation in the auction for that
PCS spectrum which was held by Nextwave and was re-auctioned by the FCC.
Verizon got back its dough by whining, cajoling, lobbying and generally
being a pain in the neck to everyone who might listen about its plight.
Verizon’s latest and greatest effort included a claim that the terrible
financial state of the telecommunications industry would be relieved if
Verizon was not forced to maintain its upfront payment in escrow and,
most importantly, made to pay the amount bid if and when the spectrum
becomes available. Thus, Verizon would not have to list a few billion
bucks on its balance sheet in debt for that spectrum.

It is
not entirely clear whether the FCC bought Verizon’s bogus argument
or just threw in the towel on keeping the money and enforcing the results
of the auction. The matter is pending before the U.S. Supreme Court and
it looks like Nextwave will be able to keep its licenses. However, what
is clear is that Verizon got back its upfront money, cancelled the debt
on its books, and applied its improved financial status to paying down
other debts of the corporation. How the telecommunications industry, as
a whole, is helped by Verizon’s improved accounting is a mystery
that has not been explained.

Regardless
of the basis for the return of Verizon’s money, the Weasel agrees
that the funds should have been returned. The fact is that the agency
has not been able to deliver clear title to the spectrum and there is
substantial doubt as to whether it ever will be able. Verizon should not
be held in financial limbo forever while the FCC sorts out its legal authority
to auction the subject spectrum. Verizon showed quite a lot of patience,
but there does come a time when the seller has to deliver. The FCC couldn’t
fill its backorder and so the buyer is entitled to a refund, and to cancel
the sale.

800
MHz Financial Mess

November
28, 2002 In a recent speech, Morgan O’Brien of Nextel Communications,
Inc. stated that the most the company will pay toward 800 MHz relocation
under the capitulation ...er ....”consensus” plan supported
by ITA, PCIA, APCO, and other friendly flock members, is the originally
offered $500 million. That won’t cut it. First, the relocation supported
by the PWC can’t be done for a half-a-bil. Nextel knows it. The
plan pushers know it. Motorola knows it. And, in a stroke of rare insight,
the FCC knows it.

The original
Private Wireless Coalition plan was fraught with problems from the outset,
however, it did present an opportunity for an equitable solution to interference
at 800 MHz. The PWC’s plan didn’t lose that opportunity until
its members ended all resistence to Nextel’s agenda, which agenda
is not fully funded. Since neither ITA nor PCIA nor any other PWC signatory
has pledged its members’ money to finance any shortfall, the funding
gap continues to be at least one billion dollars.

Add to that
problem the fact that the FCC cannot base any decision on the non-binding
promise of first monies from Nextel (a federal agency cannot adopt rules
based on private contractual performance which the agency cannot enforce)
and the difficulty for the FCC involves more than the short-fall. It involves
the entire financing scheme put forth by the PWC.

The PWC
promised that it would file additional comments with the agency to deal
with funding problems, however, those comments have not been forthcoming.
It appears that the members of the PWC passed the hat and it came back
empty; but nobody’s told the agency yet.

The fact
is, only one plan was put before the agency that would have allowed for
a relocation of 800 MHz public safety systems and which was fully financed
under statutory law, the SBT plan which was written by our office. If
that sounds self-serving, what do you want from a weasel?

PUC Member
Now PUTZ Citizen

April
8, 2002 A state judge in California has ordered that appointed PUC
member, Henry Duque, must leave his office that pays $107,000 per year.
A consumer group sued to remove him after it was discovered that Duque
had invested $10,000 in Nextel Communications, Inc. It seems that those
skeptical members of the public took umbrage at the fact that Duque drew
a salary for regulating, among other wireless carriers, Nextel. Duque,
a man who has served on the PUC for seven years, claimed that he didn=t
know that the PUC regulated wireless telecommunications companies, including
Nextel. In furtherance of his weak defense, Duque stated that he relied
on his stockbroker=s advice that investment in Nextel would not violate
his duties regarding conflict of interest. The case is Foundation for
Taxpayer and Consumer Rights v. Duque. In way of fair comment, the Weasel
notes that (1) if Duque didn=t know that the State PUC regulated Nextel
among all other carriers, the guy is admitting incompetence, which is
nearly as dangerous as blatant malfeasance; (2) anyone taking legal advice
from a stockbroker lacks the necessary judgement to decided between Apaper
or plastic@ much less regulating utilities in the State of California;
and (3) Duque, next time call former FCC Chairman Bill Kennard who will
show you how to land a Nextel directorship after serving as a regulator
and get away with it.

Blue
Light Specials

The
FCC’s latest
attempt to serve the public interest [read Congress’ interest] was its
ruling that broadband Internet access services are not telecommunications
services, rather they are information services with telecommunications
components. The Weasel called the FCC to see if a sandwich is still a
sandwich without Miracle Whip, but they’re still out on that one. But
with this sterling piece of logic, the FCC was able to justify its decision
not to regulate internet services and thus, “encourage the ubiquitous
availability of broadband access to the Internet to all Americans.” Meanwhile,
the Tauzin-Dingle Bill only received approval from those U.S. Representatives
who have received campaign money from a regional bell company. So, it
passed the House easily. If Tauzin-Dingle gets past the higher dollar
Senate, the result of the agency’s and Congress’ joint effort will be
to allow LECs to restrict access to LECs’ internet infrastructure and
capacity, thus restricting the growth of competitive high-speed ISP services,
while removing any threat that government will assist in controlling monopoly
pricing for high-speed internet access. The feds keep telling us that
they are doing all of this to bring a $500 billion increase in the economy
to restart national economic growth. Given the expected further consolidation
of the LECs, that means that maybe three companies will receive the bulk
of this expected windfall. Meanwhile, consumers are rejecting high-speed
access because of the price. Seems like if government wants to expand
the role of high-speed information services in the nation’s economy, they
could have accomplished it simply by passing a bill requiring that the
LECs hold “blue light specials.”

INDUSTRY
REVENUE UPDATE:

January
29, 2002 The FCC released its annual Industry Revenue Report that
showed that for the year 2000, the telecommunications industry made revenue
of $293 billion bucks. That's 9% more than the industry made in 1999.
Wireless contributed $62 billion. Local telephone service made up $121
billion. And long distance and other toll services kicked in about $110
billion. We suspect that the amounts are understated. Any time a company
is reporting gross revenues to the federal government, the tendency is
to be humble (read pay less taxes) about total revenue. The Weasel also
wonders what the amounts would be if we added all revenues generated by
equipment vendors, lawyers, construction companies consultants, and publishers
of the various trade publications. But if we just focus on the reported
wireless revenues alone, the most striking thing is the fact that all
wireless sales equaled $62 billion. Which means that the FCC collected
over 20% of the total revenue in auction fees. Is something out of whack
there?

JAMES
KAY REDUX

In what is rapidly becoming the case that wouldn't die, the full Commission
has fined James Kay $10,000 and has canceled twenty five 800 MHz licenses
for operation in Los Angeles. The decision is the result of a full Commission
review requested by the Enforcement bureau.

The
entire history of this case goes back to 1994 when the FCC was attempting
to cancel all 152 of Kay's licenses, both 800 and T-band. After years
of wrangling, The Enforcement Bureau got an initial decision in its favor
from the Administrative Law Judge. However, the ALJ exceeded his jurisdiction
in his decision and the full Commission reversed and remanded that decision.
Later, Kay went back to court and that ALJ found for Kay. In the second
decision, the ALJ lambasted the Enforcement Bureau for its alleged abuses
of prosecutorial discretion. Said another way, the ALJ found that the
Bureau had exceed the rules of fair play in prosecuting Kay. The enforcement
Bureau appealed that decision to the full Commission and the recent decision
came out of that review.

Meanwhile,
in a related case, Marc Sobel, a Kay crony, was found guilty of lack of
candor and was stripped of his licenses and his ability to hold a license.
The focus of that case was a management agreement entered into between
Kay and Sobel which Sobel allegedly failed to produce in a timely manner
to the FCC. This hidden ball trick had severe consequences for Sobel.
However, the real kicker appears to be a letter sent to the FCC in which
Sobel stated that he operated the stations and marketed services independent
of Kay. The FCC found that this statement was simply untrue.

Upon
review, the FCC upheld the cancellation of the Sobel 800 MHz licenses,
but reversed the ALJ on the issue of license qualifications, so Sobel
can still be a licensee. Sobel should take the decision and call it a
day. He dodged the worst bullet, disqualification. Mind you, he lost a
couple of million dollars worth of channels, but if the published record
is correct, he wasn't going to keep them anyway.

Anyone
who reads this decision will note the name, Brown and Schwaninger, as
the attorneys who worked with Kay and Sobel in the beginning. Although
I am not at liberty to discuss that representation in specifics, nor address
any knowledge that I have regarding Kay's or Sobel's claims, I can tell
you that the Kay matter was one of the most difficult of my career.

Picture
this -- you've got a zealous competitor for a client. He is smart, savvy,
and determined. He gets himself into big, BIG, trouble. You know that
the case isn't exactly going to make you popular at the FCC. They already
have let it known that they can't stand the guy. So, what do you do? A
smart lawyer looking out for his own backside would find some way to drop
the client. But that smart lawyer would be abandoning his client in his
hour of need. We couldn't do that, so into the frying pan we plunged.
It was one of the most difficult ethical decisions I ever had to make.

As
a postscript, the Weasel can tell you that this case isn't over. Although
Sobel might not appeal his decision, Kay will. There is no way that James
Kay will roll over an whimper. This one is going all the way to the Supreme
Court, if that's what it takes. The Weasel figures that this case has
probably cost the FCC about $1 million in costs and manhours. And Kay
has probably laid out about the same amount. However, the 25 canceled
licenses make that cool million look small. So, the case that wouldn't
die will go on...and on...andon...

DEFINE
BRIBERY

July 23,2001 The Bush Administration has reported its concern that
certain wireless carriers and equipment manufacturers may be engaging
in bribery of foreign officials for the purpose of achieving business
goals overseas.  In the June 29 report, both the U.S. Department
of State and the Department of Commerce expressed concern that foreign
government officials were being solicited by companies who believe that
economic development begins with a meeting with the local junta chief's
brother-in-law.  In related news, former FCC Chairman William Kennard
has joined the board of Nextel Communications, Inc.

WALL
STREET SURPRISES

July 19,2001 Only Wall Street is surprised about the amount of
time and money it costs to build out wireless systems.  Let's face
it, did anyone truly believe that 3G (whatever that is) would be deployed
in the market before 2005?  We didn't.  But stock prices were
run up to silly level during 2000 because Wall Street was talking about
3G around the corner.  I looked around the corner from my house and
there's a couple of restaurants, a dry cleaner, a photo development joint,
and a gas station. And none of these businesses will be using 3G.
That's the point.  If you can't sell it to the guy who runs the restaurant
or the gas station, then the potential subscriber numbers (also called
demand) aren't driving its launch.  And if that isn't driving the
launch, then the drive to get around the corner is going to take a lot
longer.  And while you're out driving, could you pick me up a sandwich?
Use your mobile data transceiver to order ahead.

MEDIA
BUY-BYES

July 17,2001 Metrocall announced that its products would be featured
on the insipid television program, the "Real World."  Nextel's products
were featured all over some recent movie that had John Travolta or Stalone
or another steroid enhanced actor strutting around the stage.  PSI
has a stadium named after it in Baltimore.  The wireless community
is all over TV, radio and bus stop signs across America.  How is
it that companies with negative earnings can find the dough for this high
profile stuff?  In PSI's case, they were riding high with stock prices
at the zenith when they did the stadium deal.  But Metrocall is barely
there and Nextel's debt is roughly equivalent of the cost to rebuild France
and England after WWII. Kind of looks like a guy that buys new, custom
hub caps for his repossessed Chevy.

CINGULAR-MINDED
SILLINESS

July 13,2001 The FCC was silly for allowing an additional 16 months
to construct 900 MHz SMR facilities to provide service in support of MTA
licenses acquired at auction about four years ago.  The FCC twisted,
bent and otherwise rewrote the waiver requests and stated, without support,
that the waiver requests included a cry for relief for all 900 MHz SMR
licensees.  So, in an act that appeared generally helpful, the FCC
extended the construction deadline.  In fact, only a select few licensees,
including Neoworld and Nextel wanted, needed or asked for the extension.

Cingular
Interactive, L.P., a joint venture between SBC and Bell South, has asked
for reconsideration to the FCC's ruling.  Cingular states that the
FCC's statement that the "substantial service" rule will be applied on
an MTA-by-MTA basis is tantamount to improper rulemaking. Stated another
way, Cingular wants to be able to build a shadow system in one market
and have that construction count as a part of a showing of substantial
service in another market (even if the markets are in American Somoa and
Maine).

This
ingrate pleading is so silly that even the FCC will have trouble granting
it, particularly in view of the party asking.  Cingular and its principals
have so much money that it can afford to build a thousand stations, ten
thousand towers, and a plausible excuse for Congressman Condit.
Yet, it believes that it is overly burdened by the cost of simply providing
service to the public in each of the MTAs for which it is licensed.
Puh-leezzz!!!  If Cingular built all of the SMR systems for which
it is legally obligated, the cost wouldn't even be material enough to
make it onto its 10Q.  Someone should tell Cingular the one about
"pigs get fat, but hogs get slaughtered." Pork chops, anyone?

EYE ON
CONGRESS

March 25,2001 The 107th Congress is off and running, and one of
the issues that has the Hill's attention is electronic privacy. A spate
of new bills are being introduced in both the House and the Senate touching
on different aspects of privacy. Some seek to limit or prevent unsolicited
advertisements from being sent to wireless devices. Others deal with the
use of wireless location technology, which is useful in lifesaving situations
but has obvious appeal to those who seek demographic data for marketing
purposes. A major hot button is web sites that silently collect data on
visitors (even those sites which claim they don't sell or distribute the
information). Email spamming is another legislative concern.

The 106th
Congress had most of the same bills and did little with them. It remains
to be seen what will actually get done on the 107th.

IT'S
ALL ABOUT THE SPECTRUM!

March 20, 2001 The Bush administration has announced its spectrum
management policy. Auctions are still a key component, unfortunately.
But the President is getting serious about clearing TV channels for 3G
wireless applications.

The immediate
proposal is to remove congressional deadlines for holding certain auctions
so that the FCC will have more time to better manage the spectrum. In
other words, the First Cowboy wants to pull back the reins and take the
time to properly plan an overall strategy, rather than try to create policy
piecemeal on the run. Thus, the ever-illusive 700 MHz auction would be
pushed back yet again, this time until 2004, and the auction of TV channels
52-59 would be pushed back until 2006. (Hopefully, some quality thinking
could take place during that time frame, but then again, this is government
we're talking about.)

By requiring
TV broadcasters to pay annual lease fees, Bush hopes to both raise revenue
and hasten the migration to digital TV, thus releasing more spectrum for
3G wireless which will, of course, be auctioned. The total government
take from lease fees and auctions is expected to be about $9 Billion.

Meanwhile,
spending would be cut under the plan for programs designed to bridge the
"digital divide." The Technology Opportunity Program, the Rural Telephone
Bank, and the E-rate would all be affected. E-rate would be converted
into a block grant, TOP would be cut to a third of its current budget,
and the RTB would be eliminated all together. Now if Bush could only figure
out what to do with Healthcare...

FCC
REORGANIZATION BILL

March 5, 2001 A bill has been introduced in the House to appoint
a Panel to issue proposals on how to reorganize the FCC "to reflect the
current state of telecommunications." While the bill has few sponsors
at this time, Commissioner Powell has suggested he feels some reorganization
is necessary, although by what means he has not stated. This is a bill
to keep an eye on.

NEW TIMES
FOR SMALL BUSINESS? (Part I: Changes at THE FCC)

Febuary
2001 As Jeff Kagan said in a recent Washington Post article,
"Colin is not the only Powell going places." Two things are certain about
the FCC's new Chairman, son Michael Powell. One, he is expected to create
a smoother relationship with Congress due to his warm style and firm grasp
on issues which earn him bipartisan respect. Two, he realizes people are
looking to him to pull the information economy out of a nosedive and guide
it into a secure future-like it was yesterday.

Powell is
expected to take a more hands-off approach to regulation in an effort
to promote more "competition."He recently analogized his vision for the
FCC's marketplace supervision to a parent who freely allows their child
to experiment with a new bicycle: "You must be willing to let go, despite
the risks," he said. In Powell's new FCC, regulators will be instructed
to simply provide a helmet.

Yet it was
under the rubric of "free market" and "getting government out of the way"
that former Chairman Kennard implemented "competitive" strategies such
as 800 MHz auctions, "secondary" markets in spectrum (aka commodities),
and double-standard enforcement practices which hit small businesses like
a sledgehammer upside their heads. Says another Washington Post article:
"Powell's chairmanship is expected to tilt the regulatory balance toward
the large industries the commission oversees-broadcasting, cable and Bell
telephone companies -and away from upstart telecommunications companies."

So the term
"competition" seems to mean something other than having many companies
in the market for customers to choose from; it looks more like the idea
of allowing a few large entities to conquer the entire market with their
superior force. For example, then-Commissioner Powell objected to putting
any restrictions at all on the Time-Warner/AOL mega-merger. More importantly,
he has always opposed any caps on the amount of wireless spectrum a single
entity can hold. This guy might make Kennard look like the patron saint
of the small businessman by the time he is finished.

The more
things change, the more they stay the same . . .

Round
Peg, Square Head

March
16, 2000...Washington State In the never ending saga of FCC tower
silliness, this item from Washington State is donated by Pat Buller. Pat
works for the Washington State Patrol and is charge of licensing their
radio systems, including microwave. The FCC notified him that one of their
licenses may be revoked if the WSP doesn't prove that the FAA has cleared
the tower. It has - back in 1961. Back then, the FAA just sent you a letter
that said, roughly, "it don't look like Lindburgh will run into that one."
They didn't issue study numbers. Pat showed the FCC the letter, but no
dice. No number, no tickee, no deal. So Pat's gotta get the FAA to restudy
a tower that's been up for nearly forty years, just so the thing fits
into the FCC data base. His alternative is to take a picture of the site
(which sits next to a grain silo) and ask for a waiver that would only
be good for the term of the license. Now that's a hot one! What the FCC
is saying is that upon renewal, the tower becomes an air hazzard, but
for the next five years or so, it's safe. Huh? The Weasel is confused,
but not as confused as the FCC...RHS

Lost
and Found: Although we can't give the names, we can tell you what happened

March
3, 2000 A member of the FCC staff called a law firm to ask about a
petition for reconsideration that had been filed by an opposing party.
According to the FCC's computer records, the petition was filed years
ago. The FCC guy asked if the firm had a copy of the petition and any
responsive pleading that had been filed since he couldn't find either
in his records. After the law firm checked, it discovered that it didn't
have the petition for reconsideration because its client had not been
served.

The law
firm informed the FCC guy that it couldn't find the documents, but that
it would like an opportunity to respond to the petition for reconsideration
on behalf of its client. The FCC guy said, "you can wait on that."

Cell
Site, Atlanta Style

February
26, 2000...Atlanta, GA On the way home from the recent CTIA show
in New Orleans, a number of attendees got stuck in the Atlanta airport
because the connecting plane to Philadelphia was delayed. As the delay
dragged on for a few hours, two attendees decided to kill time in an airport
bar. They periodically checked the gate for updates, and each time they
appeared more intoxicated and more belligerent. After several checks,
they were bombed and loud. So loud, in fact, that the Atlanta Police were
called and the CTIA conventioneers were led off in cuffs by the boys in
blue. The specific identity of the jailbirds is unknown, but the Weasel
would love to know who was grounded in Atlanta. If you know, fax us at
1-888-WEASELS.

Audit,
Anyone?

January
26, 2000 Well, how about that? After several years of countless meetings
in numerous Congressional offices, one of our elected officials has reached
down and found two. Congressman Donald A. Manzullo from Illinois has sent
a request to the United States General Accounting Office (GAO), requesting
an audit of license grants to Nextel. This request is the product of months
of hard work by one of our clients and SBT member, Steve Grundset of Midwest
Mobile Telephone, and me, Robert Schwaninger. So what does this mean?

One of the
worst kept secrets in telecommunications is the way that the FCC gave
wholesale grants to Nextel (and OneComm) outside the parameters of rule
and procedure. Literally tens of thousands of channels were granted from
defective applications and many were granted outside of the order of receipt.
The abuses of government process that occurred are well documented and
known. Once the GAO takes official notice of the abuses, the agency is
left to remedy the problem and explain how the problem arose in the first
instance. We leave it up to you to decide what shock waves that might
cause.

The problems
extend back to before the 1994 freeze. That means that five years of licensing
and licenses upon licensing are subject to review and possible set aside.
The effect on Nextel and the SMR marketplace could be enormous as billions
of dollars in licenses and fixed investments could be placed in jeopardy.

All that
being said, remember, we still have to see if the GAO will be proactive
in its investigation. Government investigations have a variety of speeds
and results. If done properly, the GAO audit would easily uncover the
problems which each of us has known about for years. The question remains,
will the GAO have the brass to do the right thing once it knows of the
sheer magnitude of the problem.

If you want
to do the right thing and thank the good Congressman, write Congressman
Donald A. Manzullo, 415 South Mulford Road, Rockford, Illinois 61108.
Tell him what a terrific thing he has started for small telecommunications
businesses everywhere. RHS

House
Telecommunications Subcommittee Hearing Reveals Potential FCC Extortion

November
1, 1999 At a House Telecommunications Subcommittee Hearing in late
October, industry leaders spoke of a number of problems they are having
with the FCC; however the leaders would not go on the record with the
information. Subcommittee Chairman Billy Tauzin, R-La. stated that the
reluctance to go on the record is "ringing testimony" of problems with
the FCC's processes. The industry's fear is retribution from the agency.
Chairman Tauzin's aide alleged extortion stating that many companies are
told by the FCC that they may have a problem, and then FCC staff "...come
knocking on the door saying they can solve the problem for a price," reports
Wireless Week.

Many Congressmen
also criticize the FCC for repeatedly overstepping its legal authority,
particularly when approving mergers and implementing e-rate provisions
of the 1996 Act. In August, FCC Chairman Kennard submitted his plan to
the Subcommittee for a five-year agency restructuring. Meanwhile, Congress
is preparing its own reform plan for the agency which is expected to be
more expansive than the agency's plan. FCC Commissioners Powell and Furchtgott-Roth
expressed doubts concerning whether the planned restructuring is sufficient
to reform the agency. That might be obvious considering that some of the
FCC staff only seem to want to make a buck off the industry.

A Vignette
of Federal Foolishness

There's this tower owner out West that has been leasing space on his tower
for operation of an Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) transmitter.
Nothing fancy. Just a typical rack space with a single stick hanging on
the steel. The INS has been paying $125 a month for ten years and the
lease has expired.

Given the
increases in lease prices for prime mountaintop sites (this is one) that
have occurred over the last ten years, the site owner decided to up the
rent to about $425 a month, less than he normally gets. The INS guy responds
with, "that's quite an increase. We'll have to do an audit." Huh?

So, thousands
of your tax dollars are going to go to an INS audit to determine whether
the lease price is out of line. In the meantime, the INS told the site
owner that they would "hold over" at the old lease rate while the audit
is being performed. The site owner has not offered any ability to "hold
over."

The INS
is about to get a letter saying, in effect, pay up or get off. The most
amazing thing is that the INS guy is representing that same compassionate
group that charges $7,000 a year for a permit to be on U.S. Forestry land.
So let's compare. If the federal government is the landlord, the rack
space is worth $583.33 a month. But if they're the tenant, it's worth
only $125 a month. How does that make sense? I guess we'll have to see
that audit to figure this out.

Fine,
Fine, Everywhere a Fine

August
31, 1999 The FCC releases have been dotted with this company
and that licensee getting fined for all kinds of misdeeds. Most of the
fining has come from the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, but the
Compliance and Information Bureau has gotten into the act as well. Each
day another licensee is smacked with a $2-10,000 hello from the agency
and one company got socked with a five figure zinger for failure to
pony up their share of the Universal Service Fund. What do we make of
this?

First,
it appears that somebody inside the FCC is actually reading the rules
and applying them. This is marginally shocking. Second, it appears that
licensing errors are being dealt with by not just effective housecleaning
involving the opposite side of the rug. Errant licensees are being given
a slap on the wrist along with the normal dose of administrative admonition.

Of
course, the ones that amuse us are the cases where the licensee turned
themselves in by reporting to the agency their own mistakes. One recent
case involved a local government that had inadvertently allowed their
Special Temporary Authority to lapse for a period of seven days. The
FCC allowed the STA to be renewed, but rewarded the local government's
mea culpa with a few thousand dollars worth of "Hail Marys". So where's
the incentive to correct licensing errors in a candid manner? Well,
they say that "honesty pays." And their right, if you mean pays the
U.S. Treasury. RHS

A Vacuum
At Justice

August
27, 1999 In a compromise decision between the U.S. Department
of Justice and Nextel Communications, Inc., the DOJ agreed to a modification
in the Consent Decree that has limited Nextel's growth since 1995 within
several major U.S. cities. The DOJ noted a reduction in the effect of
Nextel's further consolidation upon the emerging dispatch market that
DOJ claims is to come soon due to the 900 MHz SMR auction, the 220-222
MHz auction, and the opening of a service shop in Peoria, Illinois by
some guy named Murray. As a result of the modified decree, Nextel will
be able to acquire up to 108 900 MHz channels in markets where it was
previously forbidden to tread.

On behalf
of SBT we filed comments to the DOJ's actions stating, in essence, that
DOJ review of Nextel's request for modification of the Consent Decree
should be placed in historical context, particularly with a view toward
how Nextel achieved its position in the marketplace. We pointed out that
Nextel's consolidation of SMR channels arose in many instances from its
violation of FCC application and licensing rules and that petitions to
set aside those grants remain pending before the FCC. DOJ stated that
the matter raised in our comments were outside the scope of the proceeding.
Huh? We thought the proceeding was about whether the activities of Nextel
were resulting or may result in a further anticompetitive consolidation
of the radio dispatch market. Boy, were we wrong. This proceeding wasn't
about past misdeeds, anticompetitive behavior, improper violations of
law, or anything else related to the creation of this debt-ridden behemoth.
It was about whether the radio dispatch market is heathy enough to compete
with Nextel. The DOJ says it is and we agree. But that simplified approach
doesn't exactly provide Justice, does it .

What
the &*!!##@ is this!!

July
20, 1999 In a move that signals further non-regulation of the InterNet,
you can now get a domain name that uses dirty words. The old supplier
of InterNet addresses is reselling the service and has stated that it
won't regulate the addresses sold by the reseller. So, people are queuing
up by the thousands for naughty names to put on their web sites. We thought
about changing the address for our web site to reflect the monikers given
to us by our less than erudite rivals, but the hell with it.

George
W. and Dollar Bills

July
14, 1999 You've got to be a little nuts if you think that George W.
Bush is going to run away with the Republican nomination (coronation?)
based on dough alone. Although my dog, Molly, is less excited about a
bone than p.o.'ed GOPs are about regaining the lease on 1600 Pennsylvania
Avenue, and everyone wants to back a winner, the campaign might come down
to (gasp!!) who's the best man for the job?! I haven't made my selection
and it might be Bush, but he sure didn't move any closer to my vote when
he plunked down $45,000 for a tent for one day in Iowa. If that's the
way he's going to spend campaign money, how's he going to spend our money
once he gets the job? It's a long race and he's got the gas to run it.
Let's just hope there are a few less wrong turns along the way.

Congress
Fumes Over Budget Surplus

July
7, 1999 Try this one on for size, about a trillion dollars in budget
surpluses in the foreseeable future. That's what Congress and the White
House are predicting to be generated by our tax dollars in the next decade.
Clinton wants to use the money to prop up Medicare, social security and
to take out a contract on Charleton Heston. Trent Lott wants to cut taxes,
pay for the down payment on a semi-private room for all patients suffering
from shingles (there's a lot of limitations in the Republican version
of Medicare) and buy a good huntin' dog for all tobacco farmers so that
they can learn a new trade.

Meanwhile,
the telecom industry has got a new partner in Lockheed Martin which has
been chosen to administer the North American Numbering Plan, Local Number
Portability, and the payphones at every Denny's in the United States.
Given the number of charges that Lockheed is levying on operators, they
ought to dig up that old slogan, L.S.M.F.T., that was so popular with
Lucky Strikes. Except now it would mean, "Lockheed's Services Means Further
Taxes." Catchy, huh?

Here's my
problem. If we need the dough to run the Country in the future and pay
down on the national debt, then fine. God knows that asking Army privates
to risk their lives for a salary that's akin to the pay for asking people,
"you want fries with that?" seems a bit unfair. So take my ****in' taxes!
Use them to help finance protecting my Country and making sure that people
who simply can't do it alone are not left to suffer. But when the government
starts asking you to pony up for services you don't or won't deliver so
that a bunch of spoiled yuppies can feel important every time they reach
for a phone that delivers their own, personal phone number, I start to
wonder about the whole business.

Whether
the FCC recognizes it or not, its foray into the taxing business via the
USF, TRS, LNP, NANP, and, soon, the YMCA is highly problematic. It smacks
of technology forcing, industrial intrusion into the competitive process,
restrictive barriers on small business entrance, and a host of other ills
that makes me want to call E911. I'd pick up the phone and threaten to
kick some bureaucratic backsides, but with CALEA in place, they'd trace
the call and bill me for it.

Do
It For The Good Guys

March
26, 1999...Overland Park, Kansas We're going to make give a plug
to a particular publication, Mobile Radio Technology aka MRT. Schwaninger
has been their regulatory consultant and monthly columnist for a bunch
of years. And over the years, Don Bishop, Dave Keckler and Nikki Chandler
have individually and collectively shown more guts for honest reporting
than you can shake a stick at. Remember Bishop breaking the story about
the mysterious OneComm grants of thousands of SMR channels, which the
FCC worked to get out on the Saturday before the freeze? MRT lately took
on APCO 25 and wondered whether the whole experiment will ever work. And
meanwhile, MRT still produces, month in and month out, the most useful
stories produced in the industry. We like MRT and we know that you do
too. So, here's what we want you to do. When you get your next issue of
MRT, fill out the darn advertiser response card in there and send it.
That way the advertisers know that your reading the puppy! Do the same
thing every month. MRT deserves credit for what it does and the people
that pay so that you can get it for free should be made aware of our loyalty
to this fine magazine. Just do it. RHS

No
Way To Stay

March
23, 1999 In the FCC brief to the Court of Appeals opposing an Emergency
Motion For Stay of the 800 MHz Relocation, the FCC argued that a stay
of the relocation process would act a hardship on EA licensees. The FCC
argued that EA licensees (Nextel) might have difficulty completing its
construction requirements if the stay was granted. It has escaped no one's
notice that Nextel has never received an 800A Letter from the FCC regarding
its original licenses, much less what the FCC intends for future compliance.
How about we get the FCC to process a Petition For Special Relief filed
by our firm 1996, which requested that the FCC send an 800A letter to
Nextel to see if they constructed those channels granted under the original
Fleet Call waiver of 1991? RHS

Looking
For Justice With Nextel

March
22, 1999 A group calling itself the Alliance For Radio Competition
("ARC") is providing information to the U.S. Department of Justice's antitrust
division that is exploring Nextel Communications, Inc.'s efforts to monopolize
the dispatch radio market. ARC was started by Mobex Communications, Inc.,
a disappointed bidder for the Geotek 900 MHz channels that were recently
put up for bid pursuant to Geotek's bankruptcy proceeding. Nextel was
the high bidder. But to purchase the channels, Nextel would need relief
from the 1995 Consent Decree issued by Justice that limits the amount
of spectrum Nextel can own in several key markets. Nextel's asking for
the Consent Decree to be lifted, Justice is checking it out, a judge will
make the final determination, and operators from all over the Country
are spilling their guts to Justice about Nextel's multiple shenanigans
in consolidating the spectrum. If you've got a Nextel horror story to
tell, tell it to Justice by faxing it to Claude Scott at (202) 514-6381.
Or send it to us. We'll get it to the right people.RHS

Treaty
No Treat

March
20, 1999...San Diego, California A few years ago the FCC entered into
a treaty with Mexico to partition the use of 931 MHz paging channels along
the Mexican border. They'd get some. We'd get some. In preparing for the
treaty, the FCC checked its data base for licensed operators on the affected
channels to grandfather in the use of 931 channels that were going to
be made exclusive for Mexican use. Trouble is, the FCC data base failed
to list three sites legitimately licensed to one paging operator. The
treaty was signed and the paging operator has been bugged by the local
FCC field office and the Mexican authorities ever since for operating
three licensed sites. The truth is, we've got one big whoops here for
the FCC. They messed up and aren't really sure what to do about it. The
feds aren't legally positioned to take licenses without a hearing or compensation.
On the other hand, there's the problem of having made certain promises
to our friends south of the border. This one could get very interesting.
RHS

Whine
and Cheese

March
12, 1999 Small Business in Telecommunications (SBT) an association
of small operators throughout the industry filed an Emergency Motion For
Stay of the 800 MHz relocation proceeding, to relocate incumbent operators
out of the upper 200 SMR channels to accommodate the recently licensed
EA licensees. SBT stated that the FCC's start of the process was premature,
since there were literally thousands of SMR matters pending before the
FCC that could affect the parties' negotiation rights. The FCC opposed
the motion, saying that it was doing the best it could and anyway all
of those pending matters are because small operators have filed so many
protests.

BLM
Bozos

March
12, 1999 The U.S. Bureau of Land Management was trying to get a handle
on what it should charge users of one of its western mountain top sites.
This particular mountain was located out in the High Desert Area, east
of Los Angeles by about 100 miles. If you look on a map, you'll see that
once you get outside of the greater L.A. area, there ain't much out there.
In fact, the total fixed population served by this site is just over 20,000
people, not counting scorpions and jackrabbits. Since the BLM couldn't
decide what it should charge its permittees, it hired an outside consultant/appraiser.
The site was so remote, the consultant chose to fly over in a helicopter
to inspect it, rather than schlep through the desert to get to it. But
still, the consultant valued the site using L.A. values, since he didn't
have comps for the Mojave Desert. The result was a rent bump to $37,000
annually, which includes $15,000 a year for a non-profit, religious FM
translator which is occupying the site rent-free. The small operator using
the site doesn't collect that much rent from his entire tenant base. Sounds
like the beginning of a movement with the slogan "Taxation Without Population".

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