Industry Expresses Doubts about AAR Petition
The Enterprise Wireless Alliance filed Reply Comments in response to Public Notice issued by the FCC in reference to the Petition for Consolidation of Licenses filed by the Association of American Railroads (AAR). The petition requested that 6,000 individual site-based licenses held by certain AAR member railroads be consolidated into a geographic-area license defined as a 95-mile zone along either side of the rights-of-way of all operating rail lines in the United States.
EWA’s original Comments identified three categories not identified by the Petition, which need substantive justification:
1) The proposed geographic parameters of the license
2) The intended use of this spectrum in respect to other railroad allocations
3) The implications of the proposal in respect to the Commission’s overall spectrum initiatives, in particular those promoting the deployment of more efficient technologies and more flexible use of spectrum.
EWA’s original objections to AAR’s proposal were echoed by a number of other groups in the industry. The National Public Safety Telecommunications Council (NPSTC) raised a number of objections, saying “AAR’s petition for a national geographic ribbon license of LR category VHF and UHF band frequencies raises serious concern deserving of more thorough detail and examination.”
The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials-International, Inc. (APCO) also noted that “AAR has not demonstrated why such a broad service area is necessary for its rail operations, or that it would be the most efficient use of scarce radio spectrum.” PCIA – The Wireless Infrastructure Association concluded that “AAR has not demonstrated in any convincing way, with channel studies, usage reports or otherwise, that the railroad industry requires an exclusive license of the scope described in its Petition.”
Public Safety Asks for Mix of Narrow/Broad-band Channels at 700 MHz
As the FCC decides whether to alter the channel structure of the 700 MHz band to accommodate broadband wireless, the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council (NPSTC) says the agency should not back away from its narrowband plan but allow both narrow- and wide-band channels.
“Narrowband spectrum must be fully protected with no change in location of narrowband blocks,” NPSTC said in a letter to Michael J. Wilhelm, Chief, Public Safety and Critical Infrastructure Division. The plan calls for 12 megahertz of spectrum at 764-767/794-797 MHz and 773-776/803-806 MHz.
NPSTC’s proposed structure would include up to three 1.25 MHz channels for broadband or wideband purposes. Several alternatives are possible, including dedicating the entire 3.75 MHz to wideband operations or providing incremental 1.25 MHz bandwidth for broadband operations. All three 1.25 MHz channels could be aggregated by an RPC to provide the entire 3.75 MHz bandwidth, centered at 770.0/800.0 MHz, for broadband purposes.
Access Spectrum submitted a letter urging the FCC to provide the utmost flexibility for channel plans in the upper 700 MHz band. Numerous alternatives exist that would have positive consequences for both public safety and the adjacent commercial spectrum, according to the letter. “The comparative economic impact for both the public and private sectors of these various alternatives will be measured in the billions of dollars,” Access Spectrum said.
FCC Examines Need for Tougher Privacy Rules
The FCC has launched a proceeding to study additional security measures to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of customer proprietary network information (CPNI) held by telecommunications companies.
In the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) adopted February 10th , the Commission seeks to examine current carriers’ security measures and how they may be improved to protect consumers’ privacy. The NPRM suggests five ways to protect customer call records and other CPNI.
• Passwords set by consumers
• Audit trails that record all instances when a customer’s records have been accessed, whether information was disclosed, and to whom
• Encryption by carriers of stored CPNI data
• Limits on call record data retention
• Customer notification when the security of their CPNI may have been breached
FCC Budget Request Highlights Homeland Security, Broadband and Spectrum
The FCC’s 2007 budget request, which asked for $302.5 million, set out six areas of emphasis for the coming year. With its budget request, which is approximately $1.5 million less than FY2006, the Commission proposed to “promote the deployment of broadband services, deregulate where competition exists, enhance public safety and homeland security, ensure the viability of the Universal Service Fund, promote the efficient use of spectrum, and review media regulation to foster competition and diversity.”
The mention of Public Safety and Homeland Security is the first since Chairman Martin announced his intention to place them in a new, separate bureau, last year. The budget proposal language pledged to promote interoperability and the rapid “recoverability” of these systems in the wake of disasters. The FCC also promised support for spectrum resources, E911 and support for the resolution of interference to public safety wireless systems.
Broadband, both wired and wireless, will be on the front burner in 2007. The FCC pledged to support competition, innovation, and investment in broadband services, which will promoted the availability of Internet-based services to homes, businesses, schools and hospitals.
As one of its “fundamental responsibilities,” the FCC will continue its stewardship of the nation’s spectrum resources. The Commission noted the efforts of its Spectrum Management Task Force freeing up more spectrum for innovative uses and speeding up its availability.
Bush Nominates Fifth FCC Commissioner
In a move that will bring the FCC up to full staff, President Bush intends to nominate Robert M. McDowell to be a Commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission for the remainder of a five-year term expiring June 30, 2009. McDowell currently serves as Senior Vice President and Assistant General Counsel for the Competitive Telecommunications Association (CompTel).
Prior to this, he served as Executive Vice President and General Counsel for the America's Carriers Telecommunications Association. Earlier in his career, he was a Senior Attorney at Helein & Associates, P.C. He also took part in President Bush's 2000 presidential campaign and advised the Bush-Cheney team during the Florida recount. McDowell's nomination requires approval by the U.S. Senate.
Not Wi-Fi but Land Mobile May Get Fee for Spectrum Use
Recent reports of a proposed use fee on unlicensed spectrum, such as Wi-Fi, are unfounded. Private land mobile licensees, however, are targeted in the President’s FY2007 budget for a new fee. The reports apparently stem from a trade press item that misread the President's budget submission.
The budget refers to user fees on "un-auctioned spectrum licenses," not unlicensed spectrum. That language would include, for example, private land mobile, point-to-point microwave, and satellite. Even then, at this early stage of the budget process, it is highly uncertain that such fees would ever be imposed.
The budget passage reads in full: "To promote efficient spectrum use, the Administration proposes new authority for the FCC to set user fees on un-auctioned spectrum licenses, based on public-interest and spectrum-management principles. Fee collections are proposed to begin in 2007 and are estimated to total $3.6 billion through 2016."
Sen. Stevens Calls for Broadband Internet Subsidy
Sen. Ted Stevens, R Alaska, said high-speed Internet service should be subsidized in rural parts of the United States similar to long-distance phone calls, according to the Fairbanks, Alaska News-Miner.
In a speech to the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, Stevens, who is chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, said that Republican Senators Conrad Burns, R Mont., and Gordon Smith, R Ore., have introduced bills that would help bring high-speed broadband Internet service to rural areas using the Universal Service Fund.
"I endorse that principle," Stevens said. "Without it, rural America will never make it onto the on-ramp of the information superhighway. Rural people could be left on a dirt road with dial-up Internet if they are not included in broadband through USF."
Bush Signs Bill Containing DTV Transition Date
On Feb. 8 President Bush signed into law the final version of S.1932, “The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005,” which contains provisions relating to the digital television transition. The legislation sets February 17, 2009, as the hard date for the DTV transition and requires the recovered spectrum between channels 52 and 69 to be auctioned no later than January 28, 2008.
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