800 MHz Rebanding Simplification Supported                

EWA and other industry organizations have supported Nextel's Petition for Declaratory Ruling asking the FCC to confirm that the company has already paid $3.1B in actual and projected costs for 800 MHz rebanding which removes the possibility of any economic windfall for Sprint Nextel. As such, there was also support for a streamlined, "TA-light if at all" rebanding reconciliation and closing process to ensure that future costs can be minimized.  MORE

EWA Webinar Captures Member T-Band Opinions               

With the intention of gathering member viewpoints associated with the FCC's recent request for information about reallocating T-Band spectrum for broadband purposes and the resulting requirement to relocate licensees to alternative spectrum environs yet identified, EWA hosted a participatory member webinar. A number of questions raised by the FCC in a recent February 11 Public Notice were presented and potential EWA responses were discussed.   MORE 

LMCC Moves Closer to "Best Practices"                

The LMCC's Digital Working Group has finalized its "best practice" approaches for coordinating digital systems on shared channels, predominately in the 150-470 MHz band, and will submit the document for FCC examination after the LMCC membership's final review.  MORE 

VHF and UHF Part 22 Auctions Scheduled for July                

No comments were filed in response to the competitive bidding procedures proposed for Auction 95, an auction for the Part 22 "paging" channels that either were not purchased in the three previous auctions or were recovered by the FCC.  The auction is scheduled for July 16, and the FCC is presently seeking comments.  Further Public Notices will be issued advising of the deadline for filing applications to participate. The link to the list of available licenses can be found at  http://wireless.fcc.gov/auctions/default.htm?job=auctions_home. 

USMSS Requests Support from Enforcement Bureau      

The USMSS, in a letter submitted to the FCC Enforcement Bureau on March 5, is encouraging the FCC to establish a "simple process" to report FCC violations committed by organizations that ignore FCC regulations by adding new frequencies to systems when the licensee has not secured authority to use the new channels.  The USMSS points out that "Unfortunately, not all of the entities that service Part 90 wireless equipment comply with FCC Rule Section 90.427(b)", which states that "...no person shall program into a transmitter frequencies for which the licensee using the transmitter is not authorized".  MORE 

FCC Adopts New Rules for Wideband Signal Boosters      

New rules will require registration in an FCC database of Class B, wideband signal boosters, and non-licensed signal booster users must now secure consent from the licensee(s) whose signal they intend to amplify, among other new requirements.  MORE 

TV White Space Database Systems and Trials         

The Commission's Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) announced that it has authorized Spectrum Bridge and Telcordia to serve as national TV white space database system service providers for unlicensed devices. Previously these two organizations were limited to specific areas of the East Coast. In case anyone thought that the FCC would limit the provision of this necessary database service to a select few, in a separate Public Notice, the FCC also announced that Google has started a 45 day public trial period of its database system on March 4.  MORE 

Failed Broadband Site Registration      

Prison Communications Are Tough Enough