Dec 2, 2008 2:39 PM, By Donny Jackson

Multiple sources indicate that the much-anticipated rules for the 700 MHz D Block re-auction will not be considered during the FCC’s regular meeting on Dec. 18, causing many to question whether this commission will be able to address the matter before being reconstituted as part of a new presidential administration.

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin is supposed to conduct a press conference this week revealing the items being considered for the Dec. 18 meeting, and rules for the D Block “is not expected” to be included on the list, according to an FCC official.

Harlin McEwen, chairman of the Public Safety Spectrum Trust (PSST)—licensee of public safety’s 10 MHz of spectrum in the 700 MHz band that would be combined with the adjacent D Block in a shared wireless broadband network—said his organization was told last week that the D Block would not be on the FCC’s December agenda.

“We know that,” McEwen said during an interview with Urgent Communications. “What we haven’t been told is why [the item is not on the agenda].”

McEwen said it would be “foolish to speculate” on the reasons why the D Block item was not included on the agenda.

On Sept. 25, the FCC adopted a notice of proposed rulemaking addressing the D Block, but a subsequent comment period revealed increasing divisiveness within the public-safety and commercial camps that eventually would need to reach an agreement to make the public-private partnership model work.

Theoretically, the FCC could approve the item on circulation, but this approach typically is not used when dealing with high-profile issues, which are typically reserved for deliberation in the commission’s open meetings.

Should a D Block ruling not be included on the FCC’s December agenda, it is a virtual certainty that Republican Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate would not vote on the matter. Barring unexpected action by Congress this month, Tate’s FCC term will expire before the FCC’s meeting in January. During that meeting, the commission is expected to be divided evenly at 2-2 between Republicans and Democrats, although the commission previously has not taken any actions regarding the D Block without bipartisan consensus.

Mobile wireless consultant Andrew Seybold said his industry sources question whether the D Block item will be addressed even in January.

“I think it gets put off until the new administration,” Seybold said during an interview with Urgent Communications.

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