Verizon Wireless objects to the Nextel Consensus plan that reallocates Nextel’s emergency-radio-band and is calling for regulators to auction the wireless spectrum instead. The FCC is hoping to adopt an order in its 800 megahertz band proceeding by the end of the first quarter “if possible,” said Wireless Telecommunications Bureau Chief John B. Muleta.
The rapid growth of Nextel’s cell-phone service has caused an increase in interference in the nation’s public safety radio frequency. That’s because the FCC gave Nextel the ability to do cellular communications on their bands which are interleaved with public safety radio used by police and fire. Where once Nextel towers were miles away, now they’re across the street from fire stations or blocking an emergency call in the field.
To eliminate this disruption of emergency communications, the FCC is considering a proposal from Nextel to vacate their adjacent 700mhz and 900mhz frequency in exchange for a swath of higher bandwidth at 1.9 gigahertz. Nextel calls it the Consensus Plan.
The proposal calls for Nextel to exchange 16 megahertz of spectrum spread around the 700 MHz, 800 MHz and 900 MHz bands for 6 megahertz in the upper 800 MHz band and 10 megahertz in the 1.9 GHz band. If approved, this would leave Nextel with 16 megahertz of contiguous spectrum in the upper 800 MHz band, on which the carrier could continue to offer its voice service, and 10 megahertz in the 1.9 GHz band to offer “4G” services in the future.
Nextel has offered to pay $850 million for relocation of their interfering operators in the public safety spectrum, which were installed in good faith under FCC approval.
Other than Verizon Wireless, Nextel has had little opposition to the plan. But critics and industry observers say it would be a great windfall for the No. 5 player, giving it a heaping supply of network capacity at a relatively low cost.
Verizon Wireless says the chunk of 1.9ghz spectrum that Nextel wants is worth $7.2 billion and should be auctioned rather than given away. For its part, Nextel says its so-called consensus plan is a fair trade because it would be giving up valuable spectrum in exchange for a replacement spectrum.
Verizon Wireless is urging the FCC to put the public radio property up for auction, but the company did not promise it would be a bidder. Verizon is more than $40 billion in debt and facing the potential need to buy out partner Vodafone’s 45% stake in the joint venture.
Verizon clearly doesn’t want to concede any ground to a competitor, and has managed to get 23 members of Congress to sign a letter opposing Nextel’s swap proposal.
Observers say the FCC wants to clean out the public safety frequency quickly and at no cost to taxpayers. While giving Nextel some prime wireless turf angers rivals, it represents no direct cost to taxpayers and it achieves the goal of a clear emergency radio band.
The FCC rep declined to make any predictions as to when the agency would decide, but said that early this year was a safe bet.
Nextel offered to give up 10.5 MHz of spectrum on the 800 MHz band for 10 MHz on the 1.9 GHz band, in the Consensus Plan. That plan would redesignate 1910-1915/1990-1995 MHz to Nextel.
MMDS (between 2.5 GHz and 2.7 GHz), has 200 MHz of licensed spectrum. It’s shared with Instructional Television Fixed Service (ITFS), a band of twenty (20) television channels available for educational institutions.
MDS at 2.1 GHz was originally used to distribute, via microwave, a single channel subscription television service, usually HBO, to home subscribers. Nextel is testing Flarion for “4G” service in the MDS band. That system, which is often said to be the basis of the evolving 802.20 standard, requires licensed frequencies, below 3.5 GHz. Data rates would be mobile, as with 802.16e, but range would likely be better using lower frequencies, in the 700-800 Mhz band.
Nextel has won wireless licenses, spectrum, tower leases and other related assets from bankrupt Nucentrix Broadband Networks for $51 million in an auction. Nextel also bought Worldcom’s MMDS licenses for $140 million. That portfolio gives Nextel about 1/3rd of the 2.5 - 2.6 GHz MMDS licenses in the United States - as big as Sprint’s MMDS portfolio.
DailyWireless has more on Nextel’s Consensus Plan, Wi-Max Outed, 4G War News, FCC Created Interference, 4G Clouds in the United States, 802.16e Vrs 802.20, Public Safety Communications and FCC’s battle of the bands.
