Martin rolls ahead on Dec. 18 vote for AWS-3: If buildout benchmark not met, spectrum could go unlicensed route

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin said the agency is considering a Dec. 18 vote on a version of a free, family-friendly wireless broadband auction plan that could make spectrum available for unlicensed use if the winning license bidder fails to meet an interim buildout benchmark.
“I think it’s important for the commission to try to move forward to make maximum use of spectrum and provide an opportunity for additional broadband service,” Martin told reporters during a briefing on the FCC’s tentative Dec. 18 agenda.
The two versions of the advanced wireless services-3 proposal are very similar to the initiative that’s been in play for months, with one exception. Any AWS-3 plan that emerges will provide added flexibility on the filtering requirement – which, like the free broadband component – will be applicable to 25% of the network capacity. As such, the obligation for network-based filtering to block out pornography and other obscene content (the definition of which remains unclear) would apply to individuals under 18 years of age. Adults could opt-out of the requirement. How the filtering rule would be enforced as a practical matter is also a question that has yet to be addressed.
Martin’s AWS-3 plan has generated intense controversy in the wireless industry, with T-Mobile USA Inc. mounting an aggressive campaign against it because of fears wireless broadband operations in the 2155-2180 MHz band will cause harmful interference to AWS-1 spectrum at 2110-2155 MHz. The No. 4 wireless provider spent $4.2 billion on 120 AWS-1 licenses at a 2006 auction.
FCC engineers said testing show AWS-3 wireless broadband services would not disrupt AWS-1 mobile operations. Martin pointed out that interference safeguards for the AWS-3 band are stricter than those approved for 700 MHz services. He added that T-Mobile’s concerns are largely driven by vulnerabilities in filters it bought for U.S. and European wireless operations.
“That was their decision to use filters for spectrum that had been acquired and was being utilized in Europe,” Martin stated. The FCC chief said neither of the two AWS-3 plans integrate recent band plan recommendations by T-Mobile. Martin, trying to push though key priorities before his likely departure early next year when the Obama administration assumes power, did not say which of the two AWS-3 options he prefers.
“Chairman Martin has either been badly misinformed or just simply misunderstands the interference issue,” stated T-Mobile. “As extensive empirical evidence submitted in the record conclusively demonstrates, the principal source of interference under the FCC’s proposal for the AWS-3 band would be from the AWS-3 operator leaking into the adjacent spectrum where T-Mobile and other carriers are offering broadband services today. No filtering in T-Mobile’s or other carriers’ devices can protect against that. It is disappointing that the chairman is continuing to repeat a canard that has been put to bed a long time ago in this proceeding.”
Silicon Valley-funded startup M2Z Networks Inc. has been the strongest proponent of the AWS-3 plan. If approved, the FCC would conduct the AWS-3 auction sometime next year.
The AWS-3 proceeding has triggered a split in the Bush administration, with National Telecommunications and Information Administration acting head, Meredith Attwell Baker, telling members of Congress – which had raised concerns about Martin’s AWS-3 efforts – that conditions and restrictions on auctioned spectrum should be avoided in favor of market forces.
While the FCC is also expected to consider approval of county-based compliance standard for enhanced 911 location accuracy, notably absent from the Dec. 18 meeting agenda is a vote on new rules for the re-auction of 700 MHz D-Block public-safety/commercial license. As such, the FCC could take up the matter at a meeting in mid-January. Any regulatory challenges to the AWS-3 and D-Block decisions – as well the auctions themselves – likely will be handled by Martin’s Obama-appointed successor next year.
Article updated Dec. 3 to include comments from T-Mobile USA, and Dec. 9 to include information about enhanced 911.