See you in the funny papers
The extraordinary effort expended by so many to submit comments to the FCC regarding the resolution of 800MHz interference should not be personified with comic strip characters.
But here goes.
There’s the Invisible Man, Nextel Communications, saying, “If you can’t see me, you can’t touch me.” Nextel says isn’t responsible for interference caused to 800MHz radio systems that it doesn’t own because it is operating within its license terms — oh, most of the time. It doesn’t even mention its statutory obligation to avoid causing harmful interference regardless of its license terms. Poof. Invisible.
But the Invisible Man doesn’t hesitate to claim a statutory obligation for others: “Preserving inefficient, high-site analog non-public safety land mobile systems at the expense of spectrally efficient technologies and services would contravene the Commission’s statutory obligations,” Nextel admonishes the FCC. That’s the same FCC that, um, preserves high-site analog TV systems at the expense of blah, blah, blah.
There’s Superman, the utilities — ahem — the critical infrastructure industries that use 800MHz radio systems that might be displaced if the Invisible Man gets its way and that might continue to receive interference if it doesn’t. The utilities were quick to reach for the yellow “S” and wrap themselves in an indestructible red cape in hopes of avoiding the possible fate of their private wireless brothers.
Mind the cape
Superman says: “See here where it says, oh, for the purposes of spectrum auction exemptions, that ‘public safety radio services’ include ‘private internal radio services that are used by … non-government entities … to protect the safety of life, health or property … and that are not made commercially available to the public’? See that? That’s us. We’re public safety. You mustn’t cause us interference; you mustn’t make us pay to change frequencies; and you mustn’t otherwise step on our cape.”
Don’t forget Little Orphan Annie: Southern Linc. Sure, Annie’s digital, Annie’s a commercial wireless carrier, and Annie looks somewhat like Nextel. But Southern Linc took pains to point out that it hasn’t been the subject of interference complaints, it serves five electric utilities and 30,000 users among 3,000 public safety agencies. It shouldn’t be pushed out of the 800MHz band by the Invisible Man just because Nextel won’t recognize its own obligation not to cause interference.
Annie says that the FCC should first make more rules to require licensees to resolve interference they cause to public safety radio systems. They could use technical adjustments and frequency swaps, but whatever they do, if it doesn’t satisfy, arbitration and then perhaps FCC enforcement action should follow. Second, Southern Linc wants all public safety licensees to eventually vacate 800MHz for new housing in the 700MHz band.
Captain Industry, in the form of the Private Wireless Coalition of various private system users and trade associations, likes the idea of public safety moving to 700MHz, but it absolutely, positively won’t move to 900MHz. “There’s not enough spectrum there to meet our needs,” the captain says. The coalition doesn’t think there’s enough political support for the 700MHz idea, anyway, so it offered up a plan to consolidate 800MHz frequencies used by private systems, public safety and Nextel.
Long green
The Green Hornet, public safety, is green because it’s the color of money. Public safety already took a taste of Nextel’s money, $25 million, and it can’t take its eyes off of the $500 million that it looks as though Nextel has promised the Hornet if he backs Nextel’s 800MHz plan. And the Invisible Man promises the Hornet more 800MHz spectrum, too. Forget the utilities, other non-interfering digital system operators and private wireless. Keep your eye on the prize.
The comments filed with the FCC aren’t as simple as this editorial makes them out to be. They run more than 1,000 pages, but probably no more than 3,000, counting attachments.
What’s unfortunate is that, despite hard work to keep non-public safety land mobile radio united, the industry split into factions as it sometimes does.