‘Consensus Parties’ to give FCC 800 MHz rebanding details soon

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FCC filing to detail funding and to address border regions, timing and logistics, and post-retuning rights and responsibilities

Sixteen signatories to a rebanding plan submitted in an FCC proceeding to reduce or eliminate interference to public safety radio communications in the 800 MHz band notified the federal agency yesterday that they had made “considerable progress” toward defining funding arrangements.

The signatories said that they had intended to file supplemental comments in the proceeding that would detail the funding arrangements on or about Oct. 23, but that it would take “slightly more time than anticipated due to the breadth of the issues to be submitted.”

The signatories include a private radio licensee, numerous membership organizations that represent commercial radio service licensees and private radio licensees, including public safety agencies, plus Nextel Communications. The signatories variously refer to themselves as the Private Wireless Coalition and the Consensus Parties, and call their rebanding plan the “Consensus Plan,” reflecting the consensus they reached among themselves in formulating the plan.

“In addition to funding arrangements, the Parties will be addressing border regions, timing and logistics, as well as post-returning rights and responsibilities under the Consensus Plan,” the signatories told the FCC.

Small Business in Telecommunications, a membership organization based in Washington, is on record as opposing much of the Consensus Plan.

“Given the list of things with which the coalition is wrestling, I have to wonder what is going on. The coalition filed its comments, then abandoned those comments on reply, and now appears poised to abandon their reply comments via amendment, tweaking, and continued attempts to figure out how they are going to pay for rebanding, not just accept a loose promise of a down payment from Nextel,” said Robert H. Schwaninger Jr., SBT’s general counsel. Schwaninger also is the regulatory consultant for Mobile Radio Technology.

Schwaninger said that the matter of funding alone is big enough to make the effort to force rebanding difficult. Although Nextel has offered a conditional $500 million as part of that funding, Schwaninger said that the estimated price tag for public safety alone is in the $2 billion range—not counting costs to non-public safety users.

“The FCC has no statutory authority to raise the dough and distribute it to affected licensees. The public safety community requires guarantees, which the Private Wireless Coalition cannot give. The private commercial systems are not in line to pay for their own rebanding, much less public safety, due to the impact of the Regulatory Flexibility Act,” Schwaninger said.

“The cellular operators are not part of the coalition and reject paying for anything beyond modifications to their own systems. With the exception of Nextel, none of the coalition members have even offered a contribution toward the effort. Homeland security money isn’t available at this time and is unlikely to be made available. So, where’s the money coming from? It appears that no one knows, and no one is willing to be stuck with the entire check,” SBT’s general counsel said.

The Private Wireless Coalition signatories are:

• Aeronautical Radio

• American Mobile Telecommunications Association

• American Petroleum Institute

• Association of American Railroads

• Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials International

• Forest Industries telecommunications

• Industrial Telecommunications Association

• International Association of Chiefs of Police

• International Association of Fire Chiefs

• Municipal Signal Association

• Major Cities Chiefs Association

• Major County Sheriffs’ Association

• National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association

• Nextel Communications

• PCIA

• Taxicab, Limousine and Paratransit Association