WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission has scheduled the auction of licenses for the 220-222 MHz service band for Sept. 15. The announcement follows the release last month of service rules following the reconsideration of concerns expressed in 16 petitions.
FCC Commissioner Susan Ness voted for the rule changes, which were called “minor changes and clarifications by the FCC,” but issued a separate statement indicating that she is against the FCC’s practice of continually changing its auction rules mid-stream.
“This change in our rules will inevitably necessitate re-evaluation of business plans by potential bidders. Some who planned to bid may no longer be interested. Some who planned not to bid may suddenly wish to, but lack the time to formulate a business plan and to secure financial backing,” Ness said.
Ness is keenly aware of the rigors of securing financial backing. Prior to joining the FCC, Ness served as a lender for communications ventures.
The FCC rejected the arguments in the 16 petitions but did remove the spectrum-efficiency standard that applied to licenses operating on channels wider than 5 kilohertz. It was this change that Ness specifically mentioned in her statement. “I see no compelling need to eliminate the efficiency standard at the 11th hour or to further complicate the already-tortured history of this band,” she said.
The FCC’s decision to reject the arguments of the 16 petitions and sustain its previous rules did not surprise Alan Shark of the American Mobile Telecommunications Association.
AMTA was “not surprised that (the FCC) has chosen to sustain previous decisions regarding the 220 MHz service, both some that AMTA has supported and others with which we disagree,” Shark said.
The 220 MHz service auction is considered Phase II of the FCC’s licensing plan. Licensees in Phase I were authorized by lotteries in 1992 and 1993. The rules released last month protect Phase I licensees and grant additional flexibility to Phase I licensees to modify their authorizations to the extent that the modifications do not expand their existing service area.
In the rules, the FCC retained the current power limits on mobile frequencies.
Following the debacle of the C-block, the FCC eliminated the use of installment payments; the rules clarify that installment payments had been eliminated for the 220 MHz service as well.
