Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Spectrum Scrap

From: NEXTEL-1
Date: Mon, 28 Jun 2004 11:18:43 -0400

Spectrum Scrap

June 24, 2004

A press conference today with speakers from the public safety community
knocking
Nextel’s Consensus Plan reeked of ties back to Nextel’s corporate
opponents.

The conference call held this morning by the newly formed First Response
Coalition
comes on the same day that the Washington Post reported that the FCC
chairman
Michael Powell is leaning toward supporting Nextel’s rights to the
spectrum it covets.

Today’s conference call included firefighters, one who had experienced
first-hand the
tragic and disastrous results of interoperable radio communications
equipment when
responding to the attacks in New York City on September 11. Gear brought
in from
other boroughs to answer the public safety call that day was
incompatible with NYC’s
gear, resulting in a failure to communicate that lost lives. The
speakers emphasized
today that interoperable equipment, and public responders overseeing
funds raised
from spectrum should be crucial to the FCC’s decision on how to handle
the spectrum
in the 800 MHz band.

At issue is the spectrum in this 800 MHZ band, because it is shared by
both Nextel
and public safety responders. The FCC has moved to clear interference in
the band
and has been weighing options, including Nextel’s Consensus Plan, for
accomplishing
that. Nextel has proposed a swap out of the 800 Mhz band (see Nextel
Pushes
Consensus), in exchange for space in the 1.9 GHz band, plus $850 million
for
relocation of that spectrum. Verizon and others have vehemently opposed
this plan,
saying the market value of the 1.9 GHz spectrum is much greater than
Nextel’s
offering.

Although it’s becoming vocal for the first time, so long after the
tug-of-war over
spectrum that’s been engaged in by Nextel and its opponents, most
vocally Verizon
Wireless, the Coalition says Nextel’s winning of spectrum would come at
too low of a
price, and the fire and public safety community should be on hand to see
how the
funds are earmarked, most pressingly to update first-responder equipment
to make it
more interoperable.

But half-way through the call, when speakers were asked about who funded
the press
conference and the organization, answers dried up. While William Fox,
commissioner
at Metropolitan Fire Association in NY, Robert Stephens, chief of
dispatch, fire
department of NY, and Gene Stilp, firefighter, EMT and VP of the
Dauphin-Middle
Paston Fire Company in Dauphin, Pa., who were all on the call, said they
were
participating in on their own behalf and on their own dime, one did say
he had been
asked to participate by Todd Main, a “consumer advocate.” Main, it turns
out, is a
senior consultant at Issue Dynamics Inc., that, according to the
company’s Web site,
“provides a complete suite of campaign management services that help our
clients win
their legislative and regulatory campaigns using grassroots, grasstops,
third-party
stakeholder support and integrated online technology.” Verizon Wireless
is listed as on
the client page. Calls to Main were not returned.

Meanwhile, in response to queries to The Hastings Group, the
organization that
moderated the call, regarding funding for the coalition, came a reply
from The Gary
Panthers’ Will Thomas, who was also a call participant.

“This is a newly formed ad-hoc coalition of groups and individuals. This
was our first
public event and up to now we have had virtually no expenses,” Thomas
said in an
email. “We anticipate an aggressive grassroots and internet campaign to
raise public
awareness of and support for our first response solution. Our goal is to
make first
responders and the public safer, and we look forward to working with all
like minded
individuals, groups, and organizations who support our efforts.”

The Gray Panthers have worked with Issue Dynamics Inc. before, say
reports.
According to Corporate Crime Reporter, last year, the Gray Panthers took
out
full-page newspaper ads in newspapers that demanded the end of federal
contracts
being awarded to financially suspect MCI WorldCom. But funds for the ads
were
raised by Issue Dynamics Inc., according to reports. IDI represented the
Local
Exchange telecommunications companies in their interests against MCI
WorldCom.

As the campaign for and against the Consensus Plan continues to play out
bitterly,
, Nextel and others are hoping for a
conclusion.

“We are hopeful that we’d get a decision sooner rather than later,” says
Tim
O’Regan, spokesman at Nextel. Recently, Nextel upped the ante, and threw
in an
additional 2 MHz of spectrum for public safety use, for a total of 14
Mhz at 800,
O’Regan says.

http://www.wirelessiq.info/content/topstories/240.html

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