WASHINGTON-As the private wireless industry prepares to enter the battle against auctioning
spectrum, competing private wireless groups are fighting over how spectrum should be coordinated.
At the middle
of two disputes is the Personal Communications Industry Association, which has been criticized by some for spending
more resources representing commercial wireless interests, rather than private wireless concerns.
Frequency
coordination by competing entities began in 1996 as part of refarming efforts, which combined the various private
wireless bands into two pools known as the Industrial/Business Pools. Three groups coordinate frequencies in the lower
bands: PCIA, the Industrial Telecommunications Association and UTC-The Telecommunications Association.
Coordination in the 800 MHz and 900 MHz bands is done by PCIA for the business pool and by ITA for the industrial
pool.
In one dispute, PCIA has objected to a coordination done by ITA for Delmarva Power and Light Co. and
Atlantic Electric. PCIA has filed a letter with the Federal Communications Commission saying the coordination would
result in interference with Aeronautical Radio Inc.’s safety operations at Baltimore-Washington International Airport,
Ronald Reagan National Airport and Newark Airport, the safety communications at the Perdue Farms plant in
Accomac, Va., and the Anheuser-Busch factory in Williamsburg, Va.
ITA does not believe there will be
interference. But if there is interference, Delmarva/Atlantic would be required to resolve it, said Andre Cote, ITA
senior vice president spectrum operations and analysis.
This is the wrong sequence of events, said Alan Tilles,
PCIA’s outside counsel. “Why are they [ITA] looking at creating interference? Their attitude is secondary so they
cannot cause interference … my attitude is it will clearly cause interference,” Tilles said.
Laura Smith, ITA
executive director for government relations said, “ITA believes the coordination [was in accordance with the
rules] and stands by the coordination.”
Delmarva/Atlantic was expected to respond to PCIA’s objection but
had not done so by RCR’s press time on Thursday.
In its objection, PCIA also said the proposed coordination
“was remarkable, considering the efforts of UTC, a trade association representing utilities, which is arguing that
there should be a separate pool of frequencies for utilities because utilities cannot share spectrum with non-utilities.
Here, the applicants are proposing to share frequencies which are licensed to non-utilities on an exclusive basis. It
would certainly appear that utilities cannot share spectrum only when the utility is the incumbent user.”
The
issue of whether utilities should do their own coordination will be a hot item for the FCC as it begins to implement the
Balanced Budget Act of 1997. In addition to examining whether private wireless spectrum should be licensed by
auction, the notice of proposed rule making is expected to address the public-safety carve-out and whether that includes
some private wireless entities. A proposal under which critical infrastructures would have a separate pool could be
included in the NPRM.
An alliance called the Critical Infrastructure Industries filed a petition Aug. 14 urging the
FCC to establish a new radio service pool in the private land mobile bands below 800 MHz. Members of the alliance
include UTC, the American Petroleum Institute and the Association of American Railroads.
PCIA’s mention of the
critical infrastructures petition in its letter criticizing the Delmarva/Atlantic coordination was an over-dramatization and
a smoke screen, said Jeffrey L. Sheldon, UTC vice president and general counsel.
Another PCIA coordination
involving Manhattan Products is being challenged by UTC because of the alleged interference to Public Service
Electric and Gas Co. caused by Manhattan Products.
