WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission said it will consider abolishing analog cellular technical rules that require cellular carriers to set aside a portion of their networks for the AMPS standard.
“We accept staff’s recommendation to initiate a rule-making to review the Part 22 Cellular rules to consider which of these rules are obsolete because of competitive or technological development,” said the commission in its 2000 Biennial Review Report released Jan. 17.
The FCC expects to consider a wide ranging notice of proposed rule-making on the cellular analog technical rules during the first half of the year.
Requiring cellular carriers to reserve a portion of their networks for the 20-year-old AMPS standard is seen by many as inefficient.
“Hallelujah!” said Brian Fontes, vice president of federal relations for Cingular Wireless Inc., when he was told of the FCC’s plans. “Anything the commission can do to create more efficient spectrum use would be welcome particularly as carriers are experiencing spectrum shortages in urban environments.”
As part of its review, the commission will examine how legacy subscribers who have not migrated to digital technology are impacted by the proposal.
Legacy subscribers come in several forms, but two are most prominent. One group is the customers who signed up for cellular service for safety reasons only-indeed they may actually still have bag phones or installed car phones. Because these people do not use their phones, they are content to pay a monthly fee without ever upgrading their service plans and/or handsets.
The other user group has kept analog service because they are not comfortable with digital technology. This group could include text telephone (TTY) users who claim the technology does not work on digital phones.
The FCC, the wireless industry and hearing-impaired advocates have been working on moving TTY technology to digital.
The FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau is expected to draft the proposal.
According to the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association, as of June 30, there were 52.9 million digital subscribers. Carriers have designated 640,000 channels for analog use and 2.57 million channels for digital signals.
