ITA questions Nextel proposal
Although the business and industrial people (Industrial Telecommunications Association) are not exactly taking a position on the proposal, they are coming up with some good questions that will need to be answered.
ITA President Laura Smith released a statement on Nov. 28, 2001, in response to the Nextel proposal. “Many items within the proposal need our immediate attention, and I’m certain that many more issues will surface in the months to come,” Smith said.
Just look at the proposal and you will see that public safety and Nextel wouldn’t be the only players. The proposal suggests that all CMRS and cellular operators benefiting from the realignment should contribute to public safety’s relocation costs and that B/ILT licensees and analog SMR operators may remain in the 800MHz band on a secondary, non-interference basis or relocate at their own cost to 700MHz or 900MHz spectrum.
So Smith raised some good questions in the statement:
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How does this proposal benefit B/ILT licensees or non-geographic area licensed CMRS providers?
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Who will pay for relocation costs of B/ILT licensees? Shouldn’t Nextel be responsible since they are proposing the move? What constitutes a “reasonable relocation” cost? Who will arbitrate disagreements over “reasonable”?
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Why should non-geographic area licensed CMRS providers be subject to contributing to public safety relocation costs?
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How soon will 700MHz spectrum become available for B/ILT relocation since the broadcasters are currently operating in that spectrum are not anticipating moving anytime soon?
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How soon will 700MHz spectrum become available for B/ILT relocation since the broadcasters are currently operating in that spectrum are not anticipating moving anytime soon?
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Will a guard band, similar to the one at 700MHz, be needed at 800MHz to act as a buffer between the public safety and digital SMR allocations?
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Who will be responsible for ensuring a smooth transition to the new spectrum?
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How will interference be mitigated at adjacent channels of non-similar services?
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What would be an acceptable timeframe for relocation?
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Should relocation be mandatory if sharing is feasible?
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Should there be a mandatory shift to narrowband equipment with the relocation process? Who will pay for this?
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Nextel suggests that some equipment can be “retuned” from 800MHz to 700MHz or 900MHz. Is this technically possible?