A roadmap to identify uses for spectrum recovered from analog TV cut-off has begun in the U.K., and will proceed aggressively to publish final proposals by this time next year so new services can prepare for the DTV switchover that begins in 2008, telecom regulator Ofcom said. Although new wireless and mobile services are the expected beneficiaries of the spectrum auction, at least some of the frequencies surrendered will be considered for terrestrial HDTV channels, as requested by the BBC and other broadcasters, Ofcom said.

The FCC Wireless Bureau found 3 applicants qualified to bid in Auction 63 for 22 licenses in multichannel video distribution and data service: Braunston Spectrum, MDS Operations and Montana Internet Corp. The auction is set to start Dec. 7.

A draft order equally splitting 40 MHz of 2 GHz band mobile satellite service (MSS) spectrum between TMI/TerreStar and ICO is among several circulating at bureau level, we're told. The FCC earlier this year tentatively decided to give ICO and TMI/TerreStar each 1/3 of the spectrum, soliciting comment on how to allocate the other 1/3. One draft order, still at the International Bureau, would give each firm 2x10 MHz, we're told. No final draft has been circulated on the 8th floor, but that’s expected soon.

The House early Fri. passed 217-215 a budget bill with DTV provisions. Republicans had just enough votes to overcome stiff objections to social service cuts. As expected, no Democrats voted for the bill. But House Commerce Committee Chmn. Barton (R-Tex.) said “aye,” after having vowed to oppose the measure because Arctic oil drilling provisions had been stripped out. The bill heads to conference with the Senate, whose bill passed Nov. 3 (CD Nov 4 p5). A conference schedule hasn’t been set, a House Budget Committee spokeswoman said.

Deep disagreement divides the broadcast and wireless industries on whether the FCC should make TV “white spaces” available for unlicensed wireless broadband after the DTV transition, as shown in a heated debate sponsored Tues. by New America Foundation (NAF) in Washington. The FCC last year proposed to let a new generation of wireless devices use the white spaces, subject to protections against interference for DTV viewers. That proposal has drawn fire from the broadcast industry, which fears harmful interference from new devices.

Congress should hasten by 9 months the auction of spectrum freed in the DTV transition, and direct winners’ down payments to public safety use, Verizon Gen. Counsel Steve Zipperstein told reporters Tues. Verizon wants the auction held the first quarter of 2007, he said, but “it will require legislation to do this.” A Senate bill tags April 7, 2009, for the hard DTV transition, setting Jan 28, 2008, for the auction. A House bill would set a Dec. 31, 2008, transition and fixes Jan. 7, 2008, for the auction.

By the end of the year, the FCC is expected to resolve several wireless proceedings, agency and industry sources said. The Commission is close to acting on a Remington Arms Co. petition and an air-to-ground (ATG) proceeding, plus 2GHz MSS spectrum reallocation, E-911 waiver petitions, designated entities, broadband radio service (BRS) and educational broadband service (EBS) rules. “Remington will be the first, and then ATG, then it’s up in the air,” an FCC source said.

The FCC Wireless Bureau set deadlines for petitions to deny applications for 10 licenses won in automated maritime telecom system spectrum Auction 61, which closed Aug. 17. The Bureau said it found long-form applications by Intelligent Transportation & Monitoring Wireless, Maritime Communications/Land Mobil, AMTS Consortium and Paging Systems to be “accepted for filing.” Petitions to deny are due Nov. 10, oppositions Nov. 17, replies Nov. 24.

VoIP hasn’t disrupted the wireless industry -- but it will, speakers said late Tues. at a U. of Southern Cal. panel. “It’s not a secret that the world is moving in that direction and on the wireless side it’s a matter of time,” said T-Mobile Managing Dir.-Federal Regulatory Affairs Kathleen Ham said.

AirCell said it’s done testing its in-flight broadband technology, which it says will cost “a fraction of similar systems that use satellites” to install and operate. In-flight broadband competitor Connexion by Boeing, a satellite-based system, said last week it had completed its own tests. AirCell said low-cost U.S. airlines like the idea of in-flight wireless broadband, but find satellite-based systems too costly. If regulators approve, AirCell’s service will launch on U.S. airlines at prices akin to what passengers pay for Wi-Fi on the ground, firm officials said. AirCell would like to market in-flight broadband by 2007, assuming acquisition of a spectrum license from the FCC, they said. The Commission is circulating an order that would set rules for the next air-to-ground auction, to occur Q2 2006, sources at FCC said. Also in the works at the FCC: An Aeronautical Mobile Satellite Services (AMSS) licensing order intended to set the framework for an AMSS licensing regime. The regime is being designed to let satellite broadband and complementary services like in-flight telephony take to the skies without harming fixed satellite services grandfathered in the Ku-band. The AMSS rules will have a direct impact on Connexion by Boeing and competitor ARINC, an in-flight broadband provider that targets private business jets. The comment period after a Feb. Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposing AMSS rules has closed, and the FCC is assessing its options, an International Bureau spokeswoman said.