Howard Buskirk

With a deadline fast approaching, Nextel has yet to say whether it will accept the FCC’s 800 MHz rebanding order. The carrier has until the close of business Feb. 7, which is less than 2 weeks away. In another important approaching deadline the Transition 800 MHz Transition Administrator (TA) has to send to the FCC by the end of Jan. 31 its plan for how reconfiguration should be completed, including which markets should go first.

The FCC is expected to vote at its Feb. agenda meeting on an order that would start the process of opening 900 MHz “white spaces,” or spectrum otherwise used for Business & Industrial/Land Transportation (BILT) service, for other uses, we're told. The FCC also will consider an order on giving Mobile Satellite Ventures authority to add an ancillary terrestrial component (ATC) to its mobile satellite services (MSS).

Major wireless carriers railed against a proposal to require that they use licenses they hold or give them up as part of a rulemaking on spurring wireless rollout to rural America. However, some rural interests said the proposal deserves consideration. The national carriers said a “keep what you use” relicensing proposal could reduce rather than increase investment in rural areas rather than more. These carriers also opposed “substantial service” renewal obligations, and proposed spectrum easements and spectrum underlays.

Wireless carriers, responding to an FCC request for comments, praised the FCC for moving forward on “market- oriented” policies for opening the secondary spectrum market but warned that a proposal to adopt a “private commons” model must come complete with controls to protect other incumbents.

The FCC and Justice Dept. asked the U.S. Appeals Court, D.C., to deny a motion by ILECs to leave in place a petition for mandamus on interim UNE-P rules. While a purely procedural fight, sources said the maneuvering has potentially significant implications. If the court denies the motion, it would most likely mean a more-expedited federal appeal of parts of the interim rules opposed by the Bells. A govt. source said the FCC and DoJ are saying in effect: “If people want to appeal the new rules that’s fine, but this isn’t the way to review the new rules.” The source said timing is the key issue: “If the court agrees with what the Bells say it would lead to an expedited review stemming from their filing… They're hoping to use the mandamus to get portions of the new rules thrown out.” FCC and DoJ called the ILEC petition “an extraordinary attempt to use the Court’s mandamus jurisdiction to effect a rolling judicial oversight proceeding that is indifferent to the agency’s ongoing decisional process.” The govt. also argued that ILECs already have other mechanisms of appeal available to them if they disagree with the interim rules. “The Commission’s release of the order promulgating those rules is imminent, and parties aggrieved by those rules (including the ILECs) will be free to challenge them.”

U.S. Supreme Court Justices appeared skeptical of arguments by lawyers for the owner of a wireless tower in Cal. who asked to be reimbursed for his legal fees after winning a dispute with the City of Rancho Palos Verdes over a 50-ft. antenna, during oral argument Wed. Wireless carriers, led by CTIA, have supported the arguments, hoping it will make local govts. more cautious in their handling of tower siting cases because of the potential significant penalties they could have to pay.

Northpoint Technology appeared to score some points Fri. in oral arguments before the Court of Appeals, D.C., in its battle with the FCC over a narrow but potentially significant spectrum issue. Judges Harry Edwards and Raymond Randolph appeared skeptical at times of the FCC’s arguments on why it ruled that spectrum sought by Northpoint to offer DBS should instead be offered at auction - a step subsequently taken by the FCC.

Most states seem “comfortable” with the Commission’s Nov. order preempting state regulation of VoIP services from Vonage and other providers, Chmn. Powell said as he left the FCC meeting Thurs. The National Assn. of State Utility Consumer Advocates (NASUCA) and regulators in Cal., Ohio, Minn. and N.Y. have asked federal appeals courts to overturn the decision. “My impression is the vast majority of states… understand the rightness of that decision,” he said. “A majority of states will not fight that ruling.” The arguments of the states are flawed, he asserted. “They suggest their concern is not the jurisdictional nature of the economic regulation, but somehow the 911 issue,” Powell said. “But the Commission expressly has proceedings on each and every one of those things. They're not in any way being neglected.” Powell also indicated that the Commission appeared on track for a Feb. vote on an intercarrier compensation item, including a rulemaking that asks a battery of questions exploring the issue. If the FCC votes on the intercarrier compensation proposal in a few weeks, as expected, the Wireline Bureau probably will be able to craft a draft order by the end of the year, Wireline Bureau Chief Jeffrey Carlisle said. That’s assuming comments are made and the record is completed in the May-June timeframe, said Carlisle, speaking at a news conference after the FCC’s agenda meeting. Carlisle said the bureau also plans to have a draft order on IP-Enabled Services completed by April-May and on universal service contribution methodology around April.

The FCC’s International Bureau has begun a series of face-to-face meetings with Canadian and Mexican officials on cross-border issues that must be resolved as part of the 800 MHz rebanding initiative, Chief Don Abelson said Thurs. “We've sat down face to face and talked to them,” Abelson told reporters after the FCC meeting. “Formal means that we actually start a process through the State Dept. and that has not yet been initiated, but it will be.” Abelson said both countries are interested in further discussions. “They want to talk further with us, want to get a better sense of what the final rule is going to look like,” he said. Meanwhile, the FCC will soon launch a website that provides information on the ongoing 800 MHz rebanding. The address is www.800mhz.gov.

The FCC will make improving wireless service quality a top priority in 2005, with a look at ways of eliminating “dead zones” and improving cellular quality underground and indoors, Wireless Bureau Chief John Muleta said Thurs. during a report to the Commission.