Subject: [NEXTEL-1] FCC Still Eyeing April 15 Meeting For Vote On 800 MHz Band Item

From: Marcelrf <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 03 Apr 2004 18:40:38 -0500

FCC Still Eyeing April 15 Meeting For Vote On 800 MHz Band Item

The FCC still plans to vote on an order in its 800 megahertz band 
proceeding at its April 15 meeting, FCC Chairman Michael K. 
Powell's wireless legal adviser said today, reporting that officials are 
making inroads toward a resolution on the issue.

"I think it's going pretty well.  We've been making a lot of progress," 
Sheryl J. Wilkerson said during a luncheon sponsored by the Federal 
Communications Bar Association's wireless committee that featured 
the wireless legal advisers to all of the Commissioners.  She added of 
the deliberations, "It's still fluid."

A draft order circulating among Commissioners calls for a realignment 
of the 800 MHz band and for Nextel Communications, Inc., to receive 
10 MHz of 1.9 gigahertz band spectrum, according to sources.  Nextel 
would be responsible for paying all of the relocation costs of public 
safety and private wireless licensees and would have to pay the 
difference between those costs and the value of the 1.9 GHz band 
spectrum, the sources have said.

A number of agency sources this week declined to discuss, even on 
condition of anonymity, whether there have been major changes to the 
draft.  Several industry sources said they have had a hard time gauging 
details of the deliberations.  But sources agreed that the work seems to 
be progressing rapidly and that Chairman Powell is pushing hard for a 
vote on April 15.

"They're moving much faster than I expected," an FCC source said.  
"We're making daily progress," another agency source said.  Asked 
whether Commissioners had arrived at a decision regarding the value 
of the 1.9 GHz band spectrum, the source said they "know what the 
range is and we'll just have to get to a point where we all agree."

During today's luncheon, Ms. Wilkerson reiterated she was pleased 
with the amount of economic data that had been submitted in the 800 
MHz band proceeding, as well as the "independent analysis" that had 
been done by agency staffers.

But Paul Margie, legal adviser to Commissioner Michael J. Copps, 
questioned whether the Commission had enough objective data on the 
tradeoffs of various proposals in the proceeding.  "Adding all these 
things together when you're getting most of your information from 
folks who have a stake in the game is often very hard," he said.  "We 
don't have very good independent information-gathering means," he 
added, citing the 800 MHz band and local number portability 
proceedings as examples.

He said the FCC should hire outside engineers and economists to study 
complex issues in proceedings.  "The FCC used to do this," he said, 
adding the Commission could also ask its technical advisory 
committees to "give us discreet answers to particularly tough 
questions."

In another 800 MHz band development, Nextel today responded to 
Verizon Wireless's call for the FCC to realign the 800 MHz band 
without using the 1.9 GHz band and force Nextel to pick up the costs 
of relocating public safety and private wireless licensees.  Verizon 
Wireless made the request in a February filing at the Commission; 
Cingular Wireless LLC and AT&T Wireless Services, Inc., later 
endorsed it.

"The Commission should not be distracted by Verizon's self-serving 
arguments," Nextel told the FCC.  "Its proposal would not provide a 
feasible means of achieving the Commission's goals in this 
proceeding:  remedying interference to public safety systems in the 
800 MHz band; minimizing disruption to existing licensees; and 
providing additional spectrum for public safety communications.  
Verizon's anti-competitive proposal merely represents its latest effort 
to improve its bottom line at the expense of public safety 
communications."

Nextel said that Verizon Wireless's "in-band realignment `proposal' is 
vague and incomplete, leaving too many important details to 
guesswork.  It mentions that prior filings from other parties have 
discussed 800 MHz-only realignment, but those plans are significantly 
different from Verizon's proposal and none offers a viable way to fund 
800 MHz-only realignment."

Nextel criticized Verizon Wireless's contention that the FCC has the 
authority to order Nextel to pay to relocate incumbents.  It said the 
precedent cited by Verizon Wireless - incumbent relocations clearing 
the way for PCS (personal communications service) and SMR 
(specialized mobile radio) systems - involved new licensees having the 
right to relocate incumbents as long as they paid for it.

In another development, a consumer group called Consumers Voice 
wrote Mr. Powell March 22 to express support for the "consensus" 
plan backed by Nextel, major public safety organizations, and private 
wireless licensees. - Paul Kirby, pkirby @ tr.com
 Telecommunications Report (TRDaily)  April 2, 2004

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