Subject: [NEXTEL-1] UTC Steadfastly Opposes PWC Plan, Urges Simpler Solution

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 12 Feb 2003 03:08:44 -0500

Nextel Communications, Inc. has proposed a major re-allocation of the 800
MHz band that, among other changes, would eliminate the Business and
Industrial/Land Transportation pools and force the migration of all BI/LT
licensees to other spectrum. UTC is already taking steps to make the FCC
aware of its strong opposition to this proposal.

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800 MHz:
UTC Steadfastly Opposes
PWC Plan, Urges Simpler Solution

WASHINGTON, DC

The United Telecom Council (UTC) continued to strongly urge the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) not to adopt the Private
Wireless Compromise (PWC) proposal due to the legal inadequacies,
administrative complexity and poor policy directions the proposal
contains. In comments filed today, UTC also respectfully questions
the FCC's authority to adopt a secretly negotiated contract among
a few parties involved and to impose it on thousands of licensees
who have had no part in the agreements underlying it.

"The 800 MHz band is home to a complex mix of licensees, all of
whom are entitled to interference-free operation," said Bill
Moroney, UTC President/CEO. "Critical Infrastructure relies
heavily on this frequency band and the PWC proposal would greatly
hinder the important operations of these organizations."

Among the key issues: the PWC proposal, as well as its
Supplemental Comments, were negotiated secretly, without input
from most of the user group associations on which their members
rely, the abandonment of the FCC's spectrum policy principles in
this proceeding, the overwhelming complexity of the proposal, and
the detrimental rebanding of critical infrastructure systems.

"We don't see adequate reason here for the FCC to abandon its own
principles of regulatory flexibility and solutions by the market
rather than by a regulatory agency," said Jill Lyon, UTC Vice
President and General Counsel. "The PWC Proposal is massively
complex, inequitable and would not meet the needs critical
infrastructure. This proposal must not and arguably cannot, be
adopted."

Joining UTC's comments was the Edison Electric Institute (EEI),
the association of U.S.- based, investor-owned electric utilities.
Like some public safety agencies, utilities and other critical
infrastructure entities have received harmful interference from
low-site, digital systems. Critical Infrastructure should not be
separated from public safety, with which it increasingly shares
systems. UTC, EEI and their member companies urge the FCC to act
in this band in accordance with the principles set forth in the
recent Spectrum Policy Task Force report, by providing technical
parameters that guarantee interference elimination and prevention,
coupled with regulatory flexibility so that parties can solve
interference, continue to develop shared systems and move to more
advanced technology through private market agreements.

For More Information, Contact
Mark Gedris
1.202.833.6809
[email-masked]

http://www.utc.org/?a_v=ra&a_lid=2220&a_mid=34658&p=103

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