800 MHz Rebanding - The Beginning of the End                

At the outset of the 800 MHz rebanding initiative, the FCC determined that Sprint would need to spend a minimum of nearly $2.8 billion in rebanding costs which represented the Commission's economic evaluation of the spectrum benefit that would accrue to Sprint Nextel for relinquishing 800 MHz but gaining 1.9 GHz spectrum.  If the costs were less, then Sprint would be obligated to pay the difference. In a recent filing seeking confirmation that it need not make an "anti-windfall" payment to the U.S. Treasury, Sprint Nextel stated that it has "spent or committed to spend more than $3.4 billion to date in support of 800 MHz reconfiguration and Broadcast Auxiliary Service Relocation."  MORE

EWA to Host T-Band Webinar                

EWA will be hosting a webinar at 2:00 p.m. ET on March 7 to review the questions posed by the FCC at the outset of its efforts to repurpose the 470-512 MHz band (T-Band) necessary to implement portions of last year's spectrum reform legislation (See "T-Band Repurposing Commences" article below). Information discussed and the opinions expressed by webinar participants will be used by EWA to assist it in the formulation of EWA's comments in this matter.  EWA President Mark Crosby and Liz Sachs, Regulatory Counsel, will lead the webinar discussions. Advance registration is required and all are welcome to participate.

A Learning Experience                

At the FCC's invitation, EWA recently spent some quality time with representatives from the Office of Managing Director (OMD). The invitation was extended as a result of EWA's comments that it files nearly every year concerned with the Commission's Regulatory Fee program.  MORE

T-Band Repurposing Commences with FCC Public Notice    

The FCC's has released a Public Notice in which it has posed over twenty-five  questions for the purpose of gathering information "in order to inform the Bureaus in their recommendations to the Commission concerning when, how, and under what circumstances it is most appropriate to reallocate the T-Band and relocate T-Band users as required by Section 6103 of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 ('Act')."   Some of the questions are quite simple to answer, for example, the Commissions asked "How many licensees of all types use T-Band" (the answer resides within their own database) and whether it should consider modifying the suspension (of applications) to allow certain types of modifications"?  MORE

LMCC Best Practice Guidelines Close to Final     

It is recognized that a growing number of Industrial/Business, Public Safety and Commercial licensees are transitioning their systems to digital technologies to achieve greater spectrum efficiency, coverage and access to new features that support system investments. Despite these system improvements, it is also recognized that there are compatibility issues associated among digital and analog systems in shared bands, particularly in the 150-470 MHz space where it is difficult to secure exclusive use channel designations.  MORE

FCC Narrowband Action Items Remain Pending       

The LMCC is still waiting for a status update from the FCC's Wireless Telecommunications and Public Safety & Homeland Security Bureaus on various narrowbanding licensing and compliance matters that the Land Mobile Communications Council (LMCC) raised recently with the Commission.  MORE

Waiver Denied - Substantial Service Not Met 

Telesaurus Holdings' waiver request to accept as substantial service geographic coverage that represented less than the minimum required for a VHF public coast (VPC) station was denied by the FCC.  The licensee's decision not to provide more extensive coverage was found to be due primarily to economic decisions and not by circumstances beyond the licensee's direct control. The license was terminated by the FCC as a result.  FCC Notice of Construction

Deliberate Interference Leads to $24,000 Fine