Ten groups of MMDS and Instructional TV Fixed Service (ITFS) lice...

delays created by this proceeding have caused and will continue to cause great and needless harm to education and fixed broadband deployment,” groups wrote to Powell Fri. American Assn. of Community Colleges, American Assn. of School Administrators, American Council on Education, Assn. of Educational Service Agencies, Catholic TV Network, National ITFS Assn., National Rural Education Assn., Network for Instructional TV, Nucentrix Broadband Networks and Wireless Education Broadband Now signed letter. Groups stressed that uncertainty over which band govt. would select for additional 3G spectrum was slowing deployment of those broadband systems into “unserved areas” where they would compete with cable and DSL. “Many commercial fixed wireless operators are finding that this regulatory uncertainty has cast a chill over the capital markets, preventing access to necessary new investment,” groups said. Letter warned that some vendors were diverting R&D money from fixed wireless broadband to other projects because of uncertainty of reallocation decisions on MMDS and ITFS. Groups also contended that “ample spectrum” for 3G could come from existing cellular and PCS allocations, Enhanced Specialized Mobile Radio (ESMR) spectrum, 1710-1755 MHz, 2110-2145 MHz and 700 MHz bands. Referring to 3G wireless docket at FCC, groups wrote to Powell: “To our knowledge, you have thus far not met with anyone from our communities about this proceeding.”