Policy

WASHINGTON-Nextel Communications Inc. was dealt a major blow last week by the Federal Communications Commission, which told the nation’s top dispatch operator it cannot use private wireless spectrum to build …

United States The U.S. Federal Communications Commission will auction 16,000 paging licenses later this year in the upper bands of 929-930 MHz and 931-932 MHz, and the lower bands of …

It’s bad enough that we bombed the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade and killed three journalists because of shoddy military intelligence. So now Pentagon sympathizers want to level U.S. spectrum policy. …

WASHINGTON-Dan Phythyon, top mobile communications regulator at the Federal Communications Commission, last week cautioned against overreaction to congressionally mandated private wireless auctions and urged licensees to lobby Congress for spectrum …

SYDNEY, Australia-The Australian Communications Authority completed its personal communications services spectrum auction May 25, netting the government about $216.3 million for 211 of the 230 lots offered in the 800 …

WASHINGTON-Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), chairman of the Commerce Committee, has endorsed the Federal Communications Commission’s request to delay until next year a spectrum auction for general wireless communication services (GWCS) …

The 220 MHz specialized mobile radio industry, sometimes known as the final frontier of wireless spectrum opportunity, gained a major player when four of its larger operators agreed in principle …

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission, in a long-awaited and far-reaching policy call, is expected to rule within weeks on wireless resale policy for the future. The Wireless Telecommunications Bureau is about …

Nine companies are set to bid in the Australian personal communications services spectrum auction April 14, amid uncertainties surrounding the auction process and an economic crisis gripping many nations in …

WASHINGTON-No one was more surprised at the eventual outcome of the most recent Federal Communications Commission spectrum auction as was Thomas Jones, president of WNP Communications Inc., who walked away …

WASHINGTON-Small businesses, minority- and women-owned businesses, and rural telcos will not be eligible for installments payments following any near-future spectrum auction wins, but they will be given larger bidding credits …

WASHINGTON-The Library of Congress may ask the Federal Communications Commission for a piece of the auction-revenue pie to promote a program to preserve TV videos. The Library of Congress in …

WASHINGTON-Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) joined the wireless industry in fighting back White House and congressional budgeteer efforts to add spectrum fees and toll-free number auctions to balanced …

WASHINGTON-The Senate Commerce Committee last week rejected spectrum fees and toll-free telephone number auctions, but embraced lease fees for private wireless licensees in budget legislation lawmakers concede will fail to …

WASHINGTON-The House Commerce Committee approved expanded spectrum auction legislation last week amid an uproar over signs the bill falls well short of the five-year, $26.3 billion target negotiated by congressional …

WASHINGTON-A major fracas erupted in the House telecommunications subcommittee last week when lawmakers rebelled against congressional budget instructions to raise $26.3 billion from spectrum auctions during the next five years. …

Congress last week approved an $8.6 billion disaster relief bill. Relief, that is, for states throughout the country humbled, yet not humiliated, by floods, tornadoes, mud slides and other natural …

In the beginning, it was Reed Who? But by last week’s resignation announcement, the only question was, When? Arguably the most controversial, yet most constructive Federal Communications Commission chairman in …

WASHINGTON-Congress is slowly backtracking on spectrum auctions as a source of revenue in the bipartisan balanced budget plan, a retreat spurred by recent falling wireless license prices and financial troubles …

WASHINGTON-Two seemingly unrelated national policy actions highlight how regulators and lawmakers may be overlooking and underestimating the value of wireless technology in the new telecommunications paradigm that stresses competition and …

WASHINGTON-Two California lawmakers, citing lack of cooperation from the Federal Communications Commission and the startling prospect that spectrum legislation pushed by Congress and the Clinton administration will not provide a …

The House Budget Committee on Friday was expected to approve a balanced budget deal reached by Congress and the White House that anticipates $26.3 billion from spectrum auctions during the …

That efforts to integrate more women and minorities into the multibillion dollar wireless industry have largely failed is testament to the changing politics of affirmative action and the capital-intensive nature …

When the federal government offered spectrum auction license incentives to women, minorities, small businesses and rural telephone companies a few years ago, Steve Neely didn’t bite. Though a die-hard entrepreneur …

Editor’s Note: As C-block winner Pocket Communications Inc. goes through its bankruptcy restructuring, RCR takes an in-depth look at how Congress, the FCC and Wall Street are addressing PCS auction …