[TrunkCom] [NEXTEL1] WIRELESS CARRIERS CALL FOR UNITED FRONT ON 800 MHZ INTERFERENCE (United on his Plan Scam)

[Marcel]

Morggie  O'Brien
WIRELESS CARRIERS CALL FOR UNITED FRONT ON 800 MHZ INTERFERENCE



Tuesday June 11 12:00am
Communications Daily
Copyright 2002 Warren Publishing, Inc.


Private wireless industry groups exhorted colleagues at American
Mobile Telecom Assn. (AMTA) conference Mon. to move toward common
position on plan to relieve public safety interference at 800 MHz.
But occasionally spirited exchanges at start of 2-day conference in
Arlington, Va., stressed how far apart different user groups were on
how to mitigate interference as part of notice of proposed rulemaking
approved by FCC in March. How to pay for incumbent relocation and
where replacement spectrum would come from are among critical issues
that remain as sticking points, although all sides agreed that public
safety should obtain more spectrum. "Interleaving these kinds of
operations -- analog high side public safety type systems on one hand
and high efficiency Nextel SMR operations on the other, they simply
are going to cause these intermodulation problems and there is no way
to tweak your way out of it," (We all know this is a lie since Nextel
has resloved several instances of interference by "Tweaking") Nextel
Vice Chmn. Morggie  O'Brien said.
Several participants said time was running short to reach broader
agreement on solution, including 30 additional days for reply
comments on FCC's NPRM and shrinking window on Capitol Hill to move
new legislation this session. "It's time for this industry to stop
fighting among itself," said Laura Smith, pres. of Industrial Telecom
Assn. (ITA). "We have to work together to come up with a solution."
FCC in March approved NPRM examining ways to remedy interference
problems for public safety at 800 MHz, including Nextel scam plan that
would reconfigure users at 700, 800, 900 MHz and 2.1 GHz bands. That
has sparked concerns of private wireless users that would be moved to
700 MHz and 900 MHz without being compensated for relocation. Nextel
proposal would provide $500 million to compensate public safety users
for costs such as retuning and would give them nearly 10 MHz more
spectrum. "It's really the incredible efficiency that Nextel is
squeezing out of the spectrum that it's using that's the fault,"
O'Brien said. In addition, spectrum allocation decisions 30 years ago
were made to groups that now have chosen different technology paths,
he said. While some industry groups, such as United Telecom Council,
have cautioned FCC against rebanding approaches to rectify
interference, O'Brien said he would be "amazed" if Commission didn't
conclude that "some form of rebanding is the only solution to get
incompatible technologies separated."

O'Brien called rebanding "first step" in any ultimate solution that
Commission chose to mitigate interference that has beset public
safety users at 800 MHz from Nextel and other wireless operators. He
said receiver redesign for public safety users would be necessary at
some point "because the receivers that are being used by public
safety are too wide open and they hear everything that goes on."
Among overarching questions that policy-makers have to ask in this
proceeding is what narrowband technology role is "in a telecom world
that is increasingly moving toward broadband."

Not surprisingly, at annual leadership conference of AMTA, which
counts both private wireless licensees and Nextel among its members,
several private wireless representatives gave vent to what they saw
as problems with Nextel plan. "It may solve some problems but at
every step we saw it as creating more problems than it solved," UTC
Pres. William Moroney said. UTC has told FCC in comments that it
opposed Nextel position but couldn't support any other proposal that
would include mandatory relocation and redivision of spectrum. UTC
instead has backed market-based solution dealing with specific
interference problems as they occur. "I don't think expecting Nextel
because it was smart with technology to totally turn its system
inside out is the right answer, nor do I think that totally turning
the band inside out is the answer," Moroney said.

Assn. of Public-Safety Communications Officials International (APCO)
Pres. Glen Nash stressed critical need of public safety operators to
obtain more spectrum and said group was open to suggestions on how to
reduce interference. One aspect of Nextel White Paper presented to
FCC in Nov. that APCO found intriguing was proposal for $500 million
for public safety to make changes. For public safety agencies,
funding issue has political component because local decision- makers
have to be convinced to spend more money on systems that in some
cases were recently purchased, Nash said. Amount in Nextel proposal
isn't likely to cover all costs of public safety agencies but Nash
said: "We're not sure how much is enough. One of the arguments that
public safety has made is that we need to be reimbursed for however
much our costs are."

"We cannot present the Commission with several solutions, we have to
present the Commission with one solution," ITA's Smith. "It has to
come from public safety, Nextel, the (Private Wireless) Coalition. We
need to sit down at the table with UTC, AMTA, API and everyone in
this industry who is directly impacted and hammer something out." If
left to FCC, which doesn't have day-to-day field experience of
industry, "they will come up with a solution that is not only painful
for us but unworkable," Smith said.

"If industry can't come to a consensus position to try to resolve
this matter, we will be doing ourselves and our members a
disservice," said attorney Liz Sachs. She referred to diversity of
views expressed at conference: "Anyone who believes the FCC is going
to ask any one company to cure this whole problem on their nickel is
unrealistic. I just don't think that's how it's going to play out.
There are too many interests the Commission considers significant."
In separate talk, Michael Rosenthal, dir.-regulatory affairs,
Southern Linc, said while it was "irrefutable" that public safety
needed more spectrum, "we're not sure it should be our spectrum. If
it's eminent domain that the government needs to take this spectrum
away from us, we think they ought to pay for it just like we do if we
have to put in electricity and run a wire over someone's farm."
Rosenthal said Southern Linc's SMR system cost $500 million. "We
think that ought to be paid for," he said. Issues such as public
safety operators' needing more spectrum shouldn't be mixed together
with solutions on how to relieve interference, he said.

UTC Vp-Gen. Counsel Jill Lyon said rebanding brought with it "massive
costs and massive disruptions to what are considered to be public
safety radio services under the new definition." They would be in
addition to $2 to $3 billion cost of moving public safety systems
under Nextel plan, she said. UTC, which represents utilities with
communications systems, didn't sign on to Private Wireless Coalition
solution, arguing that not everyone in band should move. Lyon said
many rebanding proposals that had been presented to FCC would require
legislation to be implemented. Plan backed by Cingular Wireless,
Southern Linc and others, for example, would entail rebanding that
would relocate public safety users to 700 MHz from 800 MHz, requiring
legislative change. "This year and probably next year you are
probably not going to see any legislation that, for example, requires
the FCC to give back auction revenues or allows the FCC to keep
auction revenues to pay for something else," Lyon said. "That's not
going to happen." -- Mary Greczyn







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