Sprint Nextel provides 800 MHz rebanding update
About one-third of all 800 MHz public-safety licensees are operating on new frequencies after completing rebanding work, but one out of five NPSPAC licensees still remain without a rebanding agreement with Sprint Nextel, the wireless carrier stated this week in its monthly update on the massive relocation program.
Directed to the FCC’s public safety and homeland security bureau (PSHSB), the Sprint Nextel report states that 315 of the approximately 900 public-safety licensees in the NPSPAC band and the expansion band have completed retuning work. In October, Sprint Nextel reported that 265 licensees in these bands had completed relocation work.
Of the approximately 900 public-safety licensees in the non-border area, 713 have signed rebanding agreements with the carrier, the report states. Of the remaining 20% of licensees without rebanding agreements, more than 100 are “conducting accelerated negotiations and mediations” with Sprint Nextel; however “almost one-half” of the licensees without a rebanding agreement have not completed the planning necessary to start the negotiation process, according to the report.
Former PSHSB Chief Derek Poarch in August told public-safety officials that they should not count on the FCC granting another blanket waiver—something the agency granted last year, for one year—to public-safety licensees that have not completed rebanding, noting that he believed most licensees would be rebanded by July 1. Public-safety licensees will determine whether that goal is met, Sprint spokesman Scott Sloat said.
“That’s something that is dependent on public safety’s readiness to retune,” Sloat said during an interview with Urgent Communications. “We stand ready to supply the spectrum when public-safety agencies are ready to take it.”
In its report, Sprint Nextel noted that 97% of licensees in Channels 1-120—the frequencies where NPSPAC licensees are scheduled to be relocated—have completed their rebanding efforts.
