Howard Buskirk

Council Tree, Bethel Native Corporation (BNC) and the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council told the FCC they wanted to withdraw a petition for expedited reconsideration of the designated rules for the upcoming advanced wireless services auction, because action on their complaint has shifted to the 3rd U.S. Appeals Court, Philadelphia (CD June 30 p1). The AWS auction is to begin Aug. 9. Neither Council Tree nor BNC filed applications to bid in the auction.

The House Judiciary Committee should consider overhauling the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), Rep. Cannon (R-Utah), chmn. of the Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law, said Tues. during a hearing on the law. The measure delineates how the FCC and other agencies are to write regulations and how the courts review agency decisions.

Comments in an FCC proceeding on creation of a spectrum “test bed” illustrate why the Commission should proceed with extreme caution if such a bed is established, commenters said in replies, a number of which were playing defense. CTIA said the FCC must protect CMRS licensees. Shure accused some commenters of seeking a “spectrum give away.”

Few changes mark the latest edition of a controversial plan for reforming intercarrier compensation, submitted Mon. to the FCC by AT&T, BellSouth, Cingular and hundreds of small carriers. Now dubbed the “Missoula Plan,” it’s the final version of a proposal by the remaining elements of the NARUC forum (CD March 15 p1). The proposal immediately drew fire in the form of a statement from many industry groups and companies, including NASUCA, CTIA, NCTA and CompTel.

Sprint Nextel last week took a major step toward the launch of wireless broadband in spectrum once set aside for educational broadcasts, filing at the FCC an application to initiate the “transition” of 2.5 GHz spectrum in 2 major cities -- Baltimore and D.C. Clearwire subsidiary Fixed Wireless Holdings also made a series of filings after the filing window opened -- with Clearwire planning to “transition” 8 relatively small basic trading areas (BTAs).

The Wireless Communications Assn. and other groups want technical changes in an FCC broadband radio service (BRS) and educational broadband service (EBS) order, they said in filings to the FCC. The Commission approved the order to promote wireless broadband in spectrum once reserved for educational broadcast. The WCA filing was unsurprising, since the group has said since the order was released that changes are needed (CD May 1 p 3).

The FCC should make available to critical infrastructure industries (CII) 700 MHz spectrum Nextel used to use as a guard band, United Telecom Council and Motorola said. The spectrum was returned in the 800 MHz rebanding proceeding. “Nextel’s 40 returned 2+2 MHz geographic-area licenses represent a significant, though not nationwide, portion of the guard band spectrum,” UTC and Motorola said: “The need for protection from adjacent channel interference remains, especially as public safety moves to more intensive use of its 700 MHz spectrum. With its use of equipment and applications very similar to those of public safety, CII would make ideal tenants of this spectrum, protecting public safety operations through use of compatible systems.” Utilities need spectrum for interoperable communications, the letter said: “Rapid and safe restoration is a primary goal of all utilities, and they rely heavily on their internal communications networks to carry out this goal.” CII encompasses railroads and natural gas pipelines. “I don’t think this will be wildly controversial,” said a source backing making the spectrum available to CII users. “We understand that public safety is basically in support [of the proposal by UTC and Motorola], and there is a real need to protect their spectrum. That’s part of what makes this an elegant solution. The only possible competition for the spectrum we know of are broadband providers, who'd like to change the rules for all the 700 MHz spectrum, to convert it to a broadband swath for commercial and noncommercial users.”

The U.S. emergency alert system (EAS) needs upgrading to reflect new technology and new threats, Rep. Upton (R-Mich.), chmn. of the House Telecom Subcommittee said Thurs. at a hearing on the Warning Alert & Response Network (WARN) Act. The Senate is considering similar legislation.

The FCC Enforcement Bureau asked for additional information from a handful of wireline and wireless carriers, as it deepens its investigation of whether the carriers properly protected customer proprietary network information (CPNI), sources said Wed. A regulatory lawyer said the bureau sent follow-up requests for information to 5 wireline and 5 wireless carriers. The FCC has yet to cite a carrier for substantial violations of its CPNI rules since it began its probe of how “pretexters” get and sell phone records on the Internet.

Only about half of U.S. counties have E-911 Phase II capability, NENA said in documents filed this week at the FCC. Nationwide, 74.5% of counties have Phase I capability. NENA, which did a survey using a Dept. of Transportation grant, said it would cost $335 million to extend Phase II to all areas.