Aug 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By Alan Tilles

Almost everyone has a cell phone. It started with the businessperson — when was the last time that you saw a pay telephone in an airport? Then the small dispatch user was targeted, taking from land mobile systems the traditional base-and-two user. As cell phone prices dropped, it no longer made sense for most users to hang onto their pagers. Once that group was saturated, soccer moms were targeted and then their children, to the point where schools nationwide have been forced to enact rules prohibiting cell phone use.

Given the current state of market saturation, wireless carriers now are focusing their attentions on increasing airtime usage for all, which has led to cell phones that do much more. GPS tracking, music downloads, Web surfing, e-mail, and text messaging all have raked in the dollars by driving up airtime.

The latest and greatest application is mobile video. Of course, video is a bandwidth hog, which explains why the cellular industry now covets 700 MHz spectrum when a few years ago it was recommending that public-safety users be moved to the band as an alternative to 800 MHz reconfiguration.

There is, however, one last relatively untapped market for the wireless carriers to target: public safety. Yes, most public-safety users carry a cell phone, but usually it's only for backup or personal purposes, and now the push will come to provide additional public-safety services on the cellular network. It's a compelling argument. Public-safety agencies would gain access to a completely interoperable system without having to worry about funding. There would be no more arguments about channel allocations, no more multiyear delays while the FCC referees disputes over regional plans.

Hurricane Katrina highlighted the need for interoperable communications systems that can survive mega-disasters. The bean counters see in the cellular operators an easy solution, while politicians see contributions from major supporters. Public safety's need for reliability and redundancy could be met by mandating a certain grade of service from the cellular providers and/or the construction of additional towers. It can be done, provided more spectrum can be obtained by cellular operators — and the 700 MHz band looks awfully good.

Industry professionals must be prepared for these discussions and must also try not to be parochial about them. Recently, I had a discussion with an ambulance company in a large metropolitan area that wanted to vacate its shared 450 MHz channels and find clear channels in the band. I suggested that it might try purchasing from one or more of the winning bidders some of the Part 22 channels that were auctioned. The company was appalled the FCC hasn't held a bunch of spectrum in this band for decades, waiting for it to use the spectrum, for free. Those days are long gone.

Alan Tilles is counsel to numerous entities in the private radio, Internet and entertainment industries. He is a partner in the law firm of Shulman Rogers Gandal Pordy & Ecker and can be reached at atilles@srgpe.com.

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