United Telecom Council (UTC) said it ‘adamantly’ opposed recent N...

Nextel proposed realigning frequencies at 700, 800 and 900 MHz and 2.1 GHZ to reduce interference that had emerged as problem at 800 MHz between specialized mobile radio (SMR) and public safety licensees. Proposal would double public safety’s allocation of 9.5 MHz of noncontiguous spectrum at 800 MHz (CD Nov 23 p1). However, UTC balked at proposed reallocation of 800 MHz private land mobile radio (PLMR) band. If adopted, that “would devastate hundreds of vital critical infrastructure communications systems now operating in this spectrum,” UTC said. UTC Vp-Gen. Counsel Jill Lyon said: “Nextel’s proposal, while politically attractive on the surface, would cause significantly more harm than it would solve.” Nextel’s White Paper calls for “forced migration of thousands of private wireless systems to inadequate and often unavailable spectrum,” she said. That would put at risk ability of utilities, water systems and energy companies to provide “critical services,” Lyon said. Nextel arguments that its plan would reduce interference issues for public safety community would come at expense of critical infrastructure operations, UTC said. Critical infrastructure is “area of national concern no less, if not more, important than public safety emergency communications,” group said. Business and Industrial/Land Transportation (BI/LT) licensees, in addition to public safety users, would be compelled to move from their existing 800 MHz assignments, UTC said. BI/LT licensees could operate only on secondary, noninterference basis in their existing slots at 806/816-851- 861 MHz, it said: “Nextel proposes that these licensees pay for their own forced migration to Nextel’s licenses on other frequency bands.” UTC said it planned to ask FCC to not begin rulemaking based on Nextel proposal, to which public safety community had given early support.