Equipment makers Nokia and Lucent joined Motorola in urging the FCC to impose restrictions on power levels of ISM devices, including microwave ovens. The Assn. of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) shot back Fri., saying Nokia and Lucent had been quiet on the issue for more than a year and filed late in the fight “presumably at the urging” of Motorola.
Howard Buskirk
Howard Buskirk, Executive Senior Editor, joined Warren Communications News in 2004, after covering Capitol Hill for Telecommunications Reports. He has covered Washington since 1993 and was formerly executive editor at Energy Business Watch, editor at Gas Daily and managing editor at Natural Gas Week. Previous to that, he was a staff reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Greenville News. Follow Buskirk on Twitter: @hbuskirk
NTIA and the FCC said they reached agreement on criteria allowing sale of unlicensed devices operating in the 5 GHz band, exploiting dynamic frequency selection (DFS) technology to permit coexistence between the devices and military radars. The development opens 255 more MHz spectrum to unlicensed use, such as Wi-Fi. Gear makers Cisco, Motorola and Atheros have been pushing for agreement and are expected to be among the first to market with 5 GHz devices.
The FCC likely will ask a battery of questions but draw few “tentative conclusions” in an imminent notice of proposed rulemaking on guarding customer records, sources said. Given the current dearth of detailed customer proprietary network information (CPNI) rules at FCC, the Commission is expected to issue few additional citations based on thousands of CPNI certifications filed for the record in recent days, a mandate the agency temporarily reimposed as part of an investigation (CD Feb 1 p5), they said. The FCC remains on track to release the NPRM later this week, Chmn. Martin told reporters Wed.
NASUCA accused carriers of distortion amid intensifying conflict over whether the FCC should preempt states on carrier billing issues, including tougher consumer measures. Besides being an FCC issue, the matter stars in a case at the 11th U.S. Appeals Court, Atlanta.
Judges appeared skeptical Fri. of arguments by wireless licensees Mobile Relay Assoc. (MRA) and Skitronics before the U.S. Appeals Court, D.C., that the FCC had treated them in an “arbitrary and capricious” manner by not allowing them to transfer operations to what they view as preferable spectrum as part of the ongoing 800 MHz rebanding.
The FCC Fri. released a further notice of proposed rulemaking that would block wireless carriers from partnering with designated entities (DEs) to buy spectrum at cut rates in FCC auctions. The FCC said it plans to wrap up the proceeding in time for the rules to take effect before a June advanced wireless services (AWS) auction.
The 90 MHz of 700 MHz spectrum set to be auctioned by the FCC by 2008 probably will be the last big block of spectrum below 2.5 GHz to reach market for many years. A June auction of advanced wireless services (AWS) spectrum (CD Feb 2 p5) will draw big firms. But the auction of 700 MHz spectrum to be cleared by the end of analog broadcasting (CD Feb 2 p1) may see the long-rumored entry into that spectrum by nontraditional players. Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile, which lobbied hard for the law authorizing the auction, are considered likely participants. The AWS auction is carriers’ first priority now, because it’s “first in the queue,” an industry source said.
T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless are widely expected to emerge as the major bidders, with the role Sprint Nextel and Cingular will play in the auction less clear, when the FCC sells 90 MHz of advanced wireless services (AWS) licenses in an auction slated to start June 29, which could raise $15 billion based on 2005 estimates from the Congressional Budget Office.
The FCC proposed financial penalties against Alltel and AT&T on accusations of failure to certify they have properly protected customer proprietary network information (CPNI). Each would have to pay a $100,000 “forfeiture” unless it can show it has the required certificates. The FCC also ordered all carriers, wireless and wireline, to submit a copy of their compliance certificates to the Commission by Jan. 6. The actions come with Chmn. Martin expected to testify today (Wed.) at a House Commerce Committee hearing on why phone records aren’t safe from “pretexting.”
Chmn. Martin said he’s not certain if 800 MHz rebanding -- the outgrowth of the landmark 2004 order by the FCC, remains on track. Martin also warned Mon. that the FCC likely will take a tough stance as it evaluates requests for waiver from the tier-one wireless carriers who failed to meet a Jan. 31 deadline that 95% of their subscribers use “location-capable” handsets as part of the move to E-911.