WASHINGTON – Nextel Communications Inc. last week met stiff opposition to efforts to secure private wireless spectrum and approval for the transfer of 900 MHz dispatch licenses from bankrupt Geotek Communications Inc.
“Because of the inter-category sharing freeze and the strict prohibition against commercial [specialized mobile radio] use of private wireless frequencies, the commission has virtually halted the possibility of speculation or warehousing in the industrial/land transportation and business frequencies,” the Industrial Telecommunications Association and the Personal Communications Industry Association told the Federal Communications Commission last week.
“To permit Nextel to convert these frequencies to commercial use will establish an unwelcome precedent for additional requests,” the two trade groups stated.
In a June 14 filing with the FCC, Nextel said the waivers combined with 800 MHz private wireless spectrum swaps “benefits both operators and users of commercial and non-commercial wireless systems and therefore is in the public interest.”
ITA and PCIA disagree, arguing the transactions mostly benefit Nextel and that permitting it to aggregate spectrum that has been earmarked for private wireless use would constitute “a de facto reallocation [to commercial wireless] under the guise of application assignments of authorization.”
A decision is expected shortly by the FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau. The outcome could determine whether or not the honeymoon between new WTB Chief Thomas Sugrue and industry continues.
Industry criticism of Nextel, the nation’s top SMR and remaining independent national wireless operator, is unlikely to subside in coming weeks.
Besides seeking waivers for private wireless channels and regulatory clearance to acquire Geotek licenses, Nextel also needs court approval of a proposed settlement with the Justice Department to modify a 1995 antitrust agreement.
Nextel had sued in federal court to overturn the decree, which bans Nextel from operating 900 MHz dispatch systems in 14 major markets because of its towering dominance in the 800 MHz SMR business. The firm needed the antitrust decree vacated to complete the $150 million purchase of 191 900 MHz Geotek licenses.
The Justice Department opposed repealing the decree, but agreed to relaxing it so Nextel could buy non-Geotek 900 MHz spectrum and get total freedom from court sanctions in October 2000-five years ahead of time.
Mobex Communications Inc. and Chadmoore Wireless Group voiced disapproval with the deal when it was announced June 14 in federal court at the start of the Nextel trial. More opposition appears to be on the way.
The proposed Nextel-DOJ settlement was published June 24 in the Federal Register, triggering a 30-day public comment period.
Mobex, which lost out to Nextel in a December bankruptcy auction of Geotek channels, is fighting Nextel’s quest for 900 MHz SMR channels in court and at the FCC.
“Ultimately, it is the American consumers who will lose,” said John Reardon, Mobex general counsel and director of a coalition of 40 small- and medium-sized SMRs-called the Alliance for Radio Competition-that oppose any decree relief for Nextel.
“In markets where Nextel already dominates the airwaves, critical dispatch customers have experienced tremendous cost increases, and we want to present important documentation during the mandatory public comment period,” he added.
In addition to warning that transferring Geotek licenses to Nextel would be anticompetitive and irreparably harm the SMR industry, Mobex took aim at the dispatch giant’s character qualifications.
“It appears that Nextel has not adhered to the conditions of the consent decree. The failure to adhere to such a fundamental responsibility, combined with the impact the proposed transfers will have on choking competition in the relevant markets, require the commission to deny transfer of the license,” stated Mobex in a petition filed with the FCC last Wednesday to reject the assignment of Geotek licenses to Hughes Electronics Corp. and Wilmington Trust Co. (top secured creditors) and then to Nextel.
