WASHINGTON-In an effort to spur the FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau to act on
outstanding issues regarding the 800 MHz band, the Personal Communications Industry Association has sent a letter to
WTB Chief Thomas Sugrue.
The letter was sent in the wake of a federal appeals court decision earlier this month in
which the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit deferred to the Federal Communications
Commission. “The main purpose of this letter is to spur some action on the part of the FCC … We are hopeful
that with the ruling in the court case, the FCC will turn to some of these issues,” said Donald Vasek, PCIA
director of government relations.
The issues PCIA is concerned about “deeply impact the ability of incumbent
[specialized mobile radio] operators to obtain fair compensation” in relocation negotiations with winners of
licenses in the 800 MHz auction, said Mary McDermott, PCIA senior vice president and chief of staff for government
relations.
Relocation became necessary because previous licenses in the upper 800 MHz band were site specific, but
recent auction winners were granted licenses for larger geographic areas. These geographic license holders now have
the right to move site-specific license holders to the lower 800 MHz band. Negotiated relocation is supposed to take
one year from the time of the release of a relocation public notice. The clock began ticking Dec. 4.
Small Business
in Telecommunications has filed a stay of the voluntary negotiation period but the clock continues to tick until the FCC
acts-or does not act-on the SBT stay request. PCIA said in the letter it supports the SBT stay.
Winners in the 800
MHz auction have until next week to announce to the incumbents that they intend to relocate them to the lower 800
MHz band. At that point, voluntary negotiations will take place. If the auction winners do not commence with
voluntary negotiations by March 4, they lose the ability to move the site-specific license holders and would be required
to work around them.
These negotiations should not take place in an arena of uncertainty, said McDermott.
“The uncertainty which [the FCC] has created in the marketplace confuses operators, who are unsure as to what
they are permitted to request, and significantly slows the progress of the conversion,” she said in the
letter.
Following the one-year negotiation period, a one-year mandatory negotiation period will occur. During this
second year, the FCC expects both parties to negotiate in good faith toward an acceptable relocation solution.
