Ordering selloff of 2.3 GHz and 2.5 GHz spectrum as a condition of AT&T’s merger with BellSouth would serve not the public interest but those of Clearwire and Sprint Nextel, AT&T is telling the FCC, said a source familiar with the merging companies’ position. The FCC is to vote Fri. on the merger. Sale of the spectrum remains in contention.
Howard Buskirk
Howard Buskirk, Executive Senior Editor, joined Warren Communications News in 2004, after covering Capitol Hill for Telecommunications Reports. He has covered Washington since 1993 and was formerly executive editor at Energy Business Watch, editor at Gas Daily and managing editor at Natural Gas Week. Previous to that, he was a staff reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Greenville News. Follow Buskirk on Twitter: @hbuskirk
AT&T widely is expected to consolidate control of its wireless and wireline operations, with a single D.C. office and little stand-alone wireless presence after completion of the AT&T BellSouth merger, sources said. A likely prospect is for Cingular, expected to be rebranded AT&T Wireless, to close its D.C. office -- its former officials who remain answering to AT&T Senior Exec. Vp Jim Cicconi.
Emergency communications need “fundamental” reform, the New America Foundation said Thurs., urging a shift in focus from local to national control. A national system exploiting commercial networks as appropriate would be cheaper and more effective than today’s, the report said.
CTIA told the FCC that whatever uses the Commission permits in the 700 MHz guard bands, protecting public safety and preventing interference to carriers that buy 700 MHz licenses must be its paramount concerns. NPSTC agreed that protecting public safety communications must take precedence over all other concerns. Meanwhile, none of the proposals for reconfiguring the guard bands emerged as a clear winner in comments filed this week at the FCC.
Rules the FCC is developing for the 700 MHz band auction will require the Commission to decide whether to impose tough “use it or lose it” requirements, and whether to offer some spectrum in chunks small carriers can afford to buy and use. Both questions were fiercely debated in reply comments to the FCC, pitting groups of rural carriers against their large, national competitors. The auction, expected in late 2007, will offer some of the most eagerly awaited spectrum in FCC history.
The Hearing Industries Assn. told the FCC it mustn’t exempt rural carriers from requirements that they offer hearing aid compatibility (HAC) handsets for 700 MHz as soon as the spectrum comes online. The Rural Telecom Group (RTG) said in Sept. 29 comments on rules for the 700 MHz that an HAC mandate could slow rural deployment in the band.
The divestiture of 2.5 GHz and 2.3 GHz spectrum held by BellSouth in the Southeast as a condition of the AT&T- BellSouth merger has emerged as one of the issues getting significant discussion at the Commission, as commissioners and their staff hash out a final merger order. Sources said Comrs. Copps and Adelstein have made spectrum one of the key issues to earn their support. But AT&T and BellSouth are considered unlikely to budge and concede divestiture of the spectrum as a concession to win approval of their merger.
Cingular has completed the integration of its and AT&T Wireless’s historic GSM networks, almost 2 years after the completion of the 2 carriers’ merger in Oct. 2004, Cingular officials said Thurs. during a call with analysts. Cingular completed the integration of the merger partners’ TDMA networks last year. Cingular officials also said they were generally pleased with how the company fared in the recent AWS auction.
An FCC order on use of white spaces bars marketing of devices designed to operate in vacant TV bands before Feb. 17, 2009, when the DTV transition ends, according to the order, made available Wed. by the Commission. The FCC cut off any sale of devices even in the weeks before the deadline.
FCC Comr. McDowell said he hopes public safety will make greater use of commercial technologies and networks. He was kicking off a 3G Americas symposium Wed. that included several demonstrations of ways that applications provided by wireless carriers help police, firefighters and other first responders. Public safety agencies have relied mainly on equipment and systems designed specifically for their use.