Sprint Says Public Safety Needs More Spectrum

Sprint Nextel disagrees sharply with other carriers, and Verizon Wireless in particular, that public safety “has too much spectrum,” Robert Foosaner, Sprint chief regulatory officer, told us. Foosaner also said the FCC by statute must hold an auction of 700 MHz spectrum on a tight schedule, but it will have a tough time making a series of pending decisions about rules for the spectrum, especially in light of filings by Cyren Call and Frontline.

Carriers as a group have made the case in recent arguments that, with the 24 MHz of 700 MHz spectrum that public safety will get out of the DTV transition, first responders will have a healthy spectrum portfolio, especially since carriers have to serve very many more customers with less spectrum. “Do understand, that’s Verizon saying it,” Foosaner said: “Where Sprint Nextel is, is the exact opposite. They don’t have enough spectrum and to touch that 24 MHz would be inappropriate, but Verizon wants to put it in their coffers.”

The FCC will have a tough time making the decisions it needs to before the 700 MHz auction, which by federal law must begin by Jan. 28, 2008. The spectrum is the only spectrum that “has a specific designation on how it can be allocated by Congress and in what timeframe,” Foosaner said: “I don’t believe the Commission is prepared to do it. I don’t believe it’s ripe for decision, and I also believe the Commission has to [make decisions] because of the statute.”

Filings by Cyren Call and Frontline, as well as a proposal that Verizon Wireless has floated but never made public, for providing public safety with a national broadband network, have made the Commission’s job more difficult, Foosaner said. “First you have somebody called Cyren Call -- and nobody knows who Cyren Call is -- come in with a proposal that the Commission can’t legally grant because it’s contrary to the legislation,” he said: “Then you have something from Verizon, which does the opposite: Instead of giving a lot more spectrum to public safety it takes spectrum from public safety, which in my opinion also falls outside the law.”

Frontline proposes to create within the existing commercial allocation a 10 MHz “E block.” It would include a proposed license condition to build out a national broadband public safety network using the 10 MHz plus 12 MHz of public safety’s 24 MHz allocation, which would remain under public safety’s control. Foosaner called Frontline “a Solomonlike approach of killing the baby both ways.” He said: “They tried to address the greediness of Verizon. They tried to address the public safety favored approach of Cyren Call and did it very well, to the point that I don’t know why the Commission doesn’t take the time to consider it.”

Sprint Nextel disagrees with CTIA on the allocation of spectrum to public safety at 700 MHz, Foosaner said. He said this isn’t the company’s first disagreement with the Assn.: “How come CTIA doesn’t recommend that special access be put under price cap regulation? It’s ’the wireless association.’ Wireless is ripped off by special access from 2 companies. CTIA sits silently by. I ask you the question: Why does the wireless association not represent its membership?”

Sprint Nextel has had differences with CTIA on other issues, but decided its interests are served by staying a member, Foosaner said. “This conversation comes up every other year. Is this an odd year?” he quipped: “There are certain benefits we get from membership. But, obviously, when an association doesn’t stand up on an issue that represents the wireless industry… because a couple of its wireless members are controlled by the wireline entities they are part of, we have a concern… Right now, our position is to remain a member of the big tent.. and we're working within CTIA to address its wrongs.”

Foosaner also said Sprint is very concerned about a Jan. order by the Wireless Bureau’s Broadband Div. renewing the licenses of 41 educational broadband service stations and granting them waivers of renewal application deadlines. He warned that the division’s action undermines Sprint’s buildout of its 2.5 GHz spectrum. “Commission waiver and statutory waiver rules require individual findings of fact,” Foosaner said: “There were none. Secondly, if you go back to 2003, 2004, you'll find Commissioner Martin pointing out that when a license isn’t renewed it’s null & void. It doesn’t exist… These licensees, in the vast majority of cases, maybe all of them, never constructed over a 10 year period and didn’t apply for renewal and therefore don’t exist as licensees.” Then a few applied for reinstatement.

“One or 2 were granted, and that’s brought a deluge of applications,” Foosaner said: “If the Commission does this, the precedent for all its licensing in every area is undercut. It impacts adversely religious and educational licensees. It impacts adversely lease arrangements we have with people.”