By Heather Forsgren Weaver
WASHINGTON-Sprint Nextel Corp. asked the Federal Communications Commission late Thursday to delay the retuning process for the 800 MHz band, claiming that the slow start reported by the 800 MHz Transition Administrator last month is due to a steep learning curve exacerbated by things beyond Sprint Nextel’s control.
The TA recently told the FCC that there would be a significant number of incomplete agreements at the end of the negotiation process for Wave 1 licensees. As such, Sprint Nextel is asking that the FCC not use a June 27 start date for the rebanding process, which could push back the mandated three-year rebanding process.”Sprint Nextel’s records indicate that more than one-third of all Phase I (channels 1-120) 800 MHz incumbent licensees across all four Phase I retuning negotiation waves have entered into signed Frequency Retuning Agreements with Sprint Nextel,” said Lawrence Krevor, Sprint Nextel government affairs vice president of spectrum. “Sprint Nextel projects that more than 80 percent of all Wave 1 licensees either will have entered into signed FRAs with Sprint Nextel or reached agreement with Sprint Nextel on all material terms of a prospective FRA by the Dec. 26 conclusion of the Wave 1 mandatory negotiation period.”
More than 1,000 agreements must be reached with Wave 1 licensees, located in Chicago, the northeastern United States, Northern California, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Colorado. As of Nov. 10, the TA had received 146 completed agreements. The apparent delay in negotiations for the first wave could have a potential ripple effect through the whole process.
As part of its plan to solve public-safety interference in the 800 MHz band, the FCC selected an administrator to act as an independent third party. The law firm of Squire, Sanders, & Dempsey, consulting firm BearingPoint and Baseline Telecom Inc. comprise the team.
The TA established a four-wave process. The first three waves should be finished with rebanding by June 27, 2008. Formal negotiations for Wave 1 began June 27. The third-wave formal negotiation process is set to begin no later than Jan. 3. Wave 4 is the border region, and the TA expects this area to take longer due to necessary diplomatic negotiations that must take place with Canada and Mexico.
Ironically, as Sprint Nextel was speaking to reporters about its filing, the FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau announced that Wave 3 negotiations are set to begin as scheduled Jan. 3.
Sprint Nextel must negotiate an FRA with each licensee, which must be approved by the TA. If mandatory negotiations are still going on in Wave 1 after Dec. 27, the TA will step in to mediate. The matter will go to the FCC if those negotiations are unsuccessful.
The FCC needs to be more involved in the process, said Sprint Nextel. “Imbuing the TA with multifaceted and potentially inconsistent responsibilities requires the commission to be more actively involved in overseeing the fairness and efficiency of the 800 MHz reconfiguration process. The FCC must assure that the TA performs each of its responsibilities fairly and properly, and that its charges are both properly documented and fully consistent with the commission’s expectations as to the scope of the TA’s authority,” said Krevor.
Krevor told RCR Wireless News that sometimes the TA’s audit functions seem overly burdensome, noting that on at least one occasion the TA required excessive documentation for the amount of money involved.
