Subject: [NEXTEL-1] N.Y. attorney general weighs in on 800 MHz issue

From: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 27 Apr 2004 13:44:51 -0400

N.Y. attorney general weighs in on 800 MHz issue
By Dan Meyer
April 27 13:23:00, 2004

New York attorney general Eliot Spitzer sent a letter to Federal
Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell
expressing concern that the pending Consensus Plan in front of the
commission that calls for a rebanding of spectrum in
the 800 MHz spectrum band in an attempt to reduce interference for
public-safety agencies would unfairly benefit the
plan’s backer Nextel Communications Inc. at the cost of billions of
dollars to taxpayers.

Spitzer cited claims made previously by Verizon Wireless that the
spectrum Nextel would receive in the 1.9 GHz in
exchange for giving up some of its 800 MHz spectrum holdings as part of
the Consensus Plan could garner at least $5
billion in an open auction. In addition, Spitzer expressed concern that
the Consensus Plan’s proposal that Nextel would
provide $850 million to help public-safety agencies retune their
equipment as part of the realignment would not be
sufficient.

“While Nextel clearly should be compensated for its net loss of
spectrum, as well as for its commitment to assume the
costs of public-safety’s equipment, it should not receive a windfall
from the American taxpayers in exchange for its
cooperation,” Spitzer wrote in the letter. “Nextel must be required to
compensate the U.S. Treasury for the spectrum it
receives in the amount that would have been received at an auction of
that spectrum. That payment, of course, would
be offset by the value of the spectrum the company would give up in the
800 MHz band, as well as by the amount it
spends on the costs of public safety’s equipment.”

Published reports have indicated that a majority of FCC commissioners
are leaning in favor of approving the Consensus
Plan, though they are expected to require Nextel to chip in as much as
$3 billion to cover additional rebanding costs and
are currently looking at whether to provide Nextel with spectrum in the
1.9 GHz or 2.1 GHz spectrum bands in return for
its 800 MHz spectrum. Nextel sent a letter to the FCC last week noting
it was not interested in the 2.1 GHz spectrum
that was part of the original Consensus Plan filed in late 2001, and the
current proposal only factors in the inclusion of
spectrum in the 1.9 GHz band.

http://rcrnews.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?newsId=17872

--
    "NEXTEL-1 IT'S NOT JUST NEXTEL"
  Note The New address
Subscribe to Nextel-1: http://www.groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/NEXTEL-1

  "NEXTEL2 FOR iDEN SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS"
Subscribe to Nextel2: http://www.groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/NEXTEL2

  "WIRELESS FORUM HOMELAND SECURITY GROUP"
     The Complete Resource for Wireless Homeland Security.
Subscribe to WFHSG:  http://www.groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/WFHSG

------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-->
Buy Ink Cartridges or Refill Kits for your HP, Epson, Canon or Lexmark
Printer at MyInks.com.  Free s/h on orders $50 or more to the US & Canada.
http://www.c1tracking.com/l.asp?cid=5511
http://us.click.yahoo.com/mOAaAA/3exGAA/qnsNAA/61FxlB/TM
---------------------------------------------------------------------~->

-- 
    "NEXTEL-1 IT'S NOT JUST NEXTEL"
  Note The New address 
Subscribe to Nextel-1: http://www.groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/NEXTEL-1

  "NEXTEL2 FOR iDEN SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS"
Subscribe to Nextel2: http://www.groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/NEXTEL2

  "WIRELESS FORUM HOMELAND SECURITY GROUP"
     The Complete Resource for Wireless Homeland Security.
Subscribe to WFHSG:  http://www.groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/WFHSG

Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
     http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEXTEL-1/

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
     [email-masked]

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
     http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/