Wireless Industry Offering Compromise on 1755-1850 MHz Band, Sugrue Says
The wireless industry is willing to give up on the remainder of the 1755-1850 MHz band for 10 years if carriers can get access to just 1755-1780 MHz spectrum, T-Mobile US Senior Vice President Tom Sugrue said Tuesday during a meeting of the Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee. The 1755-1850 MHz band has long been a top focus of carriers for reallocation for commercial use, though it contains many federal systems that would have to be moved if the spectrum is reallocated.
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Sugrue, a member of CSMAC, said T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon Wireless recently had a meeting at the White House to emphasize that the band is worth much more if can be paired with the 2155-2180 MHz band. Under last year’s spectrum law, the FCC must license the 2155-2180 MHz band by February 2015, whether or not 1755-1780 MHz issues are resolved. “If there’s nothing to pair it with, I'm not sure what to do with it,” Sugrue said.
Sugrue said he appreciates the administration’s work on sharing (see related report in this issue) but a decision must be made in the next few months on the 1755-1780 MHz band. “Time is of the essence with respect to this one block of spectrum that’s so critical to the mobile broadband industry,” he said. “The clock is ticking.”
Carriers are willing to give up on the remainder of the 1755-1850 MHz band for 10 years if the lower 25 MHz can be brought to auction, Sugrue said. “That took a little bit of stiff upper lip because you don’t know where the industry is going to be,” he said. “Ten years in spectrum world is practically infinite. I just hope that’s taken as a goodwill gesture because it was intended that way.” Sugrue estimated that 90 percent of the value of the larger band is in the first 25 MHz since equipment is already available worldwide. “We just don’t use it because it’s made to global standards,” he said.
NTIA officials appeared dubious about the industry offer. Associate Administrator Karl Nebbia noted that for industry to get access to spectrum in 10 years, work must start now. “It doesn’t really sound like … you're really offering something completely new,” he said. “I appreciate the promise, but it’s sounding a little bit like the promise we got the last time around that [carriers] weren’t going to come after the 1755 and above spectrum.” The government previously had to clear operations off the 1710-1755 MHz band after it had been sold in the AWS-1 auction. Many of these operations were consolidated in the 1755-1850 MHz band.
"I don’t believe we promised anything along the lines you suggested, but who cares at this point,” Sugrue said in response. “That’s ancient history."
The administration has committed to finding 500 MHz for wireless broadband, said NTIA Administrator Larry Strickling. “For anybody around this table to think that getting 1755-1780 done in isolation solves our nation’s spectrum needs -- we're all kidding ourselves,” he said. “We just can’t kick the can down the road.” A 10-year promise “is not meaningful to us and it’s certainly not meaningful to the Department of Defense because it avoids the issues we have to be dealing with,” Strickling said.