BROWSING: FCC

FCC’S THIRD REPORT AND ORDER FOR PHASE II LICENSING IS RELEASED

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communication Commission's long-awaited third report and order governing the further licensing of the 220 MHz-222 MHz band, released March 12, raised more controversy on the 8th floor of 1919 M St., than it probably will once the industry begins to pick it...

FREE TRADE MAY BOOST WIRELESS

WASHINGTON-Cash-strapped wireless telecommunications firms could get a big boost by free trade telecom legislation introduced by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Rep. Michael Oxley (R-Ohio).The legislation, following on the heels of the new World Trade Organization telecom accord, would allow unlimited foreign investment in...

CBO REPORTS WHITE HOUSE OVER ESTIMATED SPECTRUM AUCTION REVENUES

WASHINGTON-The Clinton administration has overestimated by $12 billion the amount of revenue from spectrum auctions over the next five years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.CBO's numbers, prepared at the request of the Senate Appropriations Committee, appear to confirm growing suspicions about devaluation of...

GORE’S QUESTIONABLE CAMPAIGN CALLS LINKED TO SWITCHMAKER DSC

WASHINGTON-Vice President Gore's major-and questionably legal-role in Clinton administration fund raising raises more questions about whether telecommunications and trade policies continue to be compromised by campaign contributions from donors seeking a lane on the Information Superhighway.Gore, the most influential telecommunications policy voice in the...

SMR ENTREPRENEUR WINS PARTIAL VICTORY AGAINST FCC IN LICENSE DISPUTE

WASHINGTON-Southern California specialized mobile radio entrepreneur James Kay Jr. last week won a partial victory at the Federal Communications Commission regarding the FCC ordered take back of his Part 90 frequencies and the associated $75,000 fine.A commission review of Administrative Law Judge Richard Sippel's...

JOINT PARTNERSHIP SPEAKS ON WIRELESS 911 SYSTEM

SAN FRANCISCO-The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association, in conjunction with the Federal Communications Commission and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, announced a joint public/private partnership to address the importance of a national emergency 911 number for wireless users."Our existing 911 system has helped reduce...

D.C. NOTES

Now for some straight talk. Clinton II is over. Gore I may never come to pass. And the Gingrich GOP revolution has gone down in flames. So what. Big deal. Let 'em go. Who needs them, anyway. Good riddance.The real revolution is the spring-time...

PRODUCTS

Siemens Components Inc. introduced its Model CMY210, a GaAs MMIC that can be used for designing cellular or personal communications services handsets based on Time Division Multiple Access or Code Division Multiple Access standards. The company said it functions as an up/down converter for...

FARQUHAR’S EXIT FROM WIRELESS BUREAU LEADS TO RESHUFFLING AT FCC

WASHINGTON-Major reshuffling at the Federal Communications Commission last week has Dan Phythyon succeeding Michele Farquhar next month as chief of the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau at the Federal Communications Commission and special counsel Peter Cowhey replacing Don Gips as chief of the International Bureau.Phythyon, currently...

HUNDT ADAMANT ABOUT GAINING MARKET-DRIVEN SPECTRUM POLICY

WASHINGTON-Despite being overruled by his fellow commissioners, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Reed Hundt has signaled his intention to campaign aggressively for a highly deregulatory, market-driven spectrum policy.Using the office of chairman as a bully pulpit, Hundt turned his speech at the Cellular Telecommunications Industry...

FCC PITCHES WCS AS EXCITING WIRELESS OPPORTUNITY, BUT NOT RISK-FREE

WASHINGTON-"This is an exciting wireless opportunity for businesses with clear vision and a good business plan," commented Michele Farquhar, chief of the Federal Communications Commission's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, at a bureau-sanctioned wireless communications services auction forum held Feb. 28. "There will be no commercial...

QUALCOMM SEEKS LICENSE FOR MIAMI VIA PREFERENCE

Qualcomm Inc. has asked the Federal Communications Commission for the Miami pioneer's preference personal communications services license the company was denied three years ago.The request comes after the FCC's Office of Engineering and Technology asked for comment from Qualcomm as to what action the...

HUNDT TURNS UP HEAT ON CITIES OVER SITING

WASHINGTON-While Federal Communications Commission Chairman Reed Hundt ratchets up pressure on local governments to break antenna siting gridlock around the country, regulators are working behind the scenes to craft guidelines to govern health-related siting disputes.The initiative is said by one key agency official to...

MCLEOD SET TO SELL $200 MILLION IN DEBT TO FINANCE PCS BUILDOUT

NEW YORK-McLeod Inc. is expected to sell publicly $200 million in debt by early March, some of which will be used to build out the 26 personal communications services licenses it won in the recent Federal Communications Commission D- and E-block auctions.Salomon Brothers Inc.,...

CTIA HEAD EXPOUNDS ON COURTS, CONGRESS AND CONSERVATIONISTS

WASHINGTON-This may be the last year San Francisco will serve as the venue for the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association's still-growing annual convention and exposition. Every square foot of the huge Moscone Center has been booked for weeks; the waiting list is long. Show-goers this...

FCC GIVES PAGING GEOGRAPHIC LICENSING AND COMPETITIVE BIDDING

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission's second report and order that codifies new auction rules for common carrier and private carrier paging along with partitioning of geographic licenses follows in most cases auction rules set up for other wireless commercial services.However, the commission order is designed...

CITY ZONING CHANGES AID GTE WIRELESS BUILDOUT

GTE Wireless Inc. said it turned on service ahead of time in Cincinnati last week due, in part, to the existence of clear city zoning regulations."I correctly advised not to expect the FCC to completely exempt siting of telecommunications from land use regulations,"...

ORTEL CORP. INTRODUCES A NEW CDMA REPEATER

SAN FRANCISCO-Ortel Corp. has introduced a Code Division Multiple Access repeater, the first to meet the industry standard for CDMA, said the company.Ortel also announced its MirrorCell Select 4-Channel and MirrorCell Max 2-Channel High Power Repeater for Global System for Mobile communications networks.The CDMA...

CITIZEN EDUCATION MAY HELP RESOLVE WIRELESS SITING PROBLEMS

With up to nine wireless carriers in every major U.S. city competing for their share of the wireless telephone market, the recent winners of the C, D, E and F auctions are facing some of the most difficult challenges to date in developing infrastructure...

PEOPLE

Metawave Communications Corp. named Vito Palermo senior vice president and chief financial officer, with responsibility for the company's financial and administrative operations including accounting, treasury, financial planning, investor relations and human resources. Most recently, Palermo served as vice president and corporate controller for Bay...

A NEW SPECTRUM POLICY: LETTING THE MARKET WORK

In January, Greg Rosston and Jeff Steinberg released a staff working paper that clearly articulated how a market-based approach to spectrum management would maximize the public interest. That report informed my congressional testimony on spectrum management in February. The article below illustrates the principles...

LAW REVIEW PAPER CLAIMS FLEXIBLE SPECTRUM POLICY IS NOT LEGAL

WASHINGTON-Federal Communications Commission Chairman Reed Hundt's flexible spectrum policy violates the law, according to a Catholic University communications law review article.Though published a year ago, the article by Tara Susan Becht, a Catholic University law graduate now in private practice in Washington, D.C., has...

COMMISSION WILL CREATE STANDARD STREAMLINED AUCTION RULES

WASHINGTON-Future auctions conducted by the Federal Communications Commission will be run by a standard laundry list of rules instead of a new set of rules formulated auction by auction.The FCC last Thursday adopted competitive bidding rules. The panel also adopted a plan for consolidating...

SPECTRUM STAKEHOLDERS SPEAK OUT ON TELECOM AUCTION POLICY

WASHINGTON-Formulating future spectrum policy not only is a hot topic for those who must handle the regulatory and legislative aspects of parceling out channels, those that need more frequencies and those that want to hold onto what they've got also are making their opinions...