WASHINGTON—Federal Communications Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein joined the wireless industry in expressing concern about federal guides for relocating broadband licensees from the 2150-2162 MHz band to make room for advanced wireless services.
“I was disappointed … because we were unable to adopt self-relocation procedures that would have allowed [broadband radio service] operators to initiate involuntary relocation after some type of waiting period,” said Adelstein in a speech at last week’s Wireless Communications Association International conference here. “Self-relocation procedures have proven to be a useful tool in promoting timely and prompt spectrum relocation proceedings in the past. I am hopeful that my concerns are misplaced and that relocation will occur on an expedited basis notwithstanding our lack of a self-relocation policy.”
WCA has petitioned for reconsideration of the FCC’s BRS relocation rules, stating 30-to-50 systems in the 2150-2162 MHz band will be doomed unless telecom regulators revisit rules they approved earlier this year.
“In some cases, today’s BRS systems will die a quick death, as transmissions from new AWS base stations cause debilitating interference to nearby BRS base stations,” WCA stated in its filing. “Although the [BRS relocation order] has provided BRS incumbents with appropriate protection against interference from cochannel AWS deployments by requiring the relocation of vulnerable BRS operations before AWS can commence operations, the commission failed to extend that protection to non-cochannel deployments as proposed by WCA, CTIA and others. Instead, the rules adopted in the [BRS relocation order] permit the deployment of new non-cochannel AWS base stations without so much as prior coordination with the BRS licensee, subject merely to the obligation that the AWS licensee cure after the fact whatever interference it may cause. This is not adequate.”
The FCC plans to begin auctioning 1,122 AWS licenses in the 1710-1755 MHz and 2110-2155 MHz bands on Aug. 9. However, a lawsuit in the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals could delay the start of bidding.
WCA also flagged as problematic the FCC’s determination that BRS licensees are not entitled to reimbursement if they upgrade systems to increase wireless transmission speeds. As a result, according to WCA, it will be difficult for incumbent BRS licensees to attract capital over the 15 years AWS auction winners have to involuntarily relocate them.
“If BRS system operators cannot meet demand by increasing their present throughput, consumers will abandon them in favor of alternative suppliers that have no restrictions on their ability to add bandwidth in response to consumer demand,” said WCA. “Just as 9.6 [kilobits per second] is dead and 56 kbps dial-up service is dying on the vine, so too will 2.1 GHz BRS-based service expire.”
WCA intends to seek reconsideration of a related FCC decision it contends does not adequately protect BRS licensees relocated to the 2496-2500 MHz band from interference caused by mobile satellite and broadcast auxiliary transmissions.
