UPDATED: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved a controversial
spectrum swap with Nextel to alleviate congestion of
airwaves used by police and fire departments.
Under the agreement, Nextel will license 10 megahertz of contiguous spectrum
at 1.9 gigahertz that’s currently used by public safety agencies and
private wireless licensees. Those users will be relocated to a portion of
the 800 megahertz band that will be turned over from Nextel.
The move will be completed over 42 months. The first nine months will be
dedicated to frequency planning and data collection. The movement of the
largest public safety systems would occur in the final stages.
The FCC’s decision sparked an outcry from Verizon Wireless, which called it
“bizarre,” given that Nextel’s cell phone traffic was causing the
interference problems.
It deemed the FCC’s move a “multi-billion dollar windfall on Nextel at
taxpayer expense.” It also called on other arms of the government to
intervene.
“The FCC has failed to provide a lawful solution to the challenge presented
by Nextel’s interference with communications vital to the nation’s first
responders,” Verizon Wireless said. “Now Congress must step in to fix this
mess.”
Verizon Wireless has urged the FCC to auction off the spectrum earmarked for
its rival.
Joining Verizon Wireless in opposing the plan was the Cellular
Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA), which also filed its
objections with the FCC. CTIA president and CEO Steve Largent was less
caustic than Verizon Wireless, however, characterizing the outcome as
“disappointing.”
The trade group claims that there were more timely and less difficult
solutions to the interference problem, including providing a case-by-case
review, providing immediate relief for affected parties. The CTIA also
recommended that, if necessary, the band be restructured to minimize
interference.
“Giving up such valuable spectrum without a public auction means the U.S.
Treasury is losing billions of dollars,” Largent said. “Those funds
could have been used to provide public safety with money to make much-needed
improvements in the vital care it provides all of us.”
Nextel has said its rivals have misrepresented the value of the spectrum.
Nextel added that the spectrum move will cost several billion dollars to
pull off.
