Cyren Call needs more than 12 MHz of spectrum to set up a robust wireless broadband public safety network, it told the FCC. Cyren, which wants a 30 MHz network, said 12 MHz, to be carved out of 24 MHz scheduled for public safety after the DTV transition, simply isn’t enough. No plan using so little spectrum makes investment sense, it said. A Dec. FCC NPRM asked how the agency should change the rules for the 24 MHz of 700 MHz spectrum public safety gets after transition (CD Dec 21 p7).
Howard Buskirk
Howard Buskirk, Executive Senior Editor, joined Warren Communications News in 2004, after covering Capitol Hill for Telecommunications Reports. He has covered Washington since 1993 and was formerly executive editor at Energy Business Watch, editor at Gas Daily and managing editor at Natural Gas Week. Previous to that, he was a staff reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Greenville News. Follow Buskirk on Twitter: @hbuskirk
The FCC approved a waiver request by Crown Castle letting the company transmit video and audio to cellphones using its Modeo service at up to 20 times previously authorized power levels. The order is especially important in suggesting that the FCC may also allow higher power levels for broadband PCS and AWS transmissions, sources said. CTIA asked for high power levels in the FCC’s biennial review.
FCC designated entity (DE)rules guarantee minority investors will avoid spectrum auctions, said Mosaic Partners, a new minority investors group. A filing by the group, which last week began meeting with agency officials, came as the FCC contemplates rules for the 700 MHZ auction, which could begin as early as summer.
FCC Chmn. Martin named Derek Poarch, U. of N.C. police chief, the first permanent head of the Public Safety Bureau. Since it opened in Sept., the Bureau has been run by Ken Moran, an FCC staffer with no law enforcement experience, prompting safety officials to press for a chief from their world. Poarch, chief of police at Martin’s undergraduate alma mater, heads a department of 300 full and part-time employees. Several sources said Fri. they were surprised Martin hadn’t picked a chief with a higher profile. But Harlin McEwen, a former police chief who represents law enforcement groups on spectrum issues, endorsed Martin’s choice. “It shows the chairman’s commitment to the public safety community to address our critical needs,” he said.
Chmn. Martin indicated Fri. he’s considering proposing Carterfone-style rules for wireless networks, indicating to reporters after the FCC meeting in Harrisburg, Pa. that he hasn’t reached any conclusions. The FCC must strike an “appropriate balance” between innovation by equipment makers and investment by carriers in their networks, Martin said. He drew parallels to cable telephony, where the FCC is also considering imposing Carterfone requirements: “We're now in the process of making sure we can do that on the cable side… With wireless it depends to some degree on competition among the wireless networks.”
Some wireless carriers may have tough rules to protect their systems, but that doesn’t mean the FCC should mandate net neutrality, at least now, a venture capitalist and the CEO of a high-tech wireless startup told an FCBA wireless lunch Thurs. Neither endorsed Skype’s call for a Carterfone rule for wireless (CD Feb 22 p6).
Skype asked the FCC to impose Carterfone requirements on wireless carriers, giving customers the right to attach any device of their choice to a wireless network. Skype asked the FCC for a rulemaking to evaluate wireless carriers’ practices in light of the Carterfone ruling.
DoJ and FCC approval of the Sirius-XM merger is considered likely but not a slam dunk, judging from early readings by analysts and lawyers who follow the satellite industry. DoJ is expected to give the merger the closest scrutiny. House Telecom Subcommittee Chmn. Markey (D-Mass.) said the merger deserves close review. At the FCC, the International Bureau, which rarely handles high profile orders, will take the lead under new Chief Helen Domenici.
M2Z’s proposal to offer a 10 MHz national broadband network in the 2155-2175 MHz spectrum band is progressing as planned, and the future of the proposal now in the FCC’s hands, CEO John Muleta said Fri. “The status update is that the FCC accepted the application Jan. 31,” said Muleta, who spoke to a Progress & Freedom Foundation seminar on the proposal. “We think it’s a solid application and think it’s in the public interest and makes the best use of the spectrum. But I'm going to decline to make any predictions.”
Industry and environmental groups jointly asked the FCC to study the “conspicuity” of steady burning red obstruction sidelights, as the FCC contemplates new rules for wireless towers aimed at curbing bird deaths. Among the rules under consideration at the FCC is a requirement that celltower operators install white blinking lights to protect migrating birds. The groups ask the FAA to determine whether red steady lights can be eliminated altogether without compromising air safety.