Sprint Nextel wins FCC reprieve on 800 MHz rebanding

The Federal Communications Commission extended by a month the looming June 26 deadline for Sprint Nextel Corp. to vacate 800 MHz interleaved channels involved in a rebanding initiative to eliminate interference to public-safety communications.
The new 800 MHz deadline governing interleaved channels is July 26.
“This will provide the commission with more time to consider the issues raised by the Sprint petition on this matter,” the FCC stated.
A federal appeals court on May 2 affirmed the FCC’s June 26 deadline for Sprint Nextel to move off the 800 MHz interleaved channels.
“Sprint is encouraged that the FCC has granted a 30-day extension so it can review our proposal for a staged transition of the interleaved spectrum to public safety availability,” said Scott Sloat, a Sprint Nextel spokesman. “Everyone recognizes that many public-safety licensees simply need additional time to complete their retuning activities and our proposal would ensure that this spectrum is turned over to public safety while enabling Sprint to continue to provide best-ever service levels to our customers. We look forward to discussing our proposal with the FCC in the coming days.”
The No. 3 mobile-phone carrier on June 17 asked the FCC for additional time to depart interleaved 800 MHz frequencies, laying out a phased-in, regional plan.
The FCC earlier this week waived the June 26 deadline for Sprint Nextel and hundreds of public-safety licensees to accomplish a relocation spectrum swap involving the 120 National Public Safety Planning Advisory Committee channel block. The deadline extensions run up to one year for that spectrum, but could be extended depending on unique circumstances of public-safety agencies.