U.S. broadband wireless policy ranks among the world’s most flexible approaches, speakers said at an event sponsored by the U. of Southern Cal. law school in Washington. As an example, Robert Pepper, Cisco senior managing dir.-global advanced technology policy and former FCC chief of policy development, said “There are a couple of auction designs and spectrum policies [in the U.S.] promoting spectrum flexibility and allowing the markets to make adjustments that worked very well.” Pepper said he thinks of flexibility “in 3 dimensions: technology, service and build out.” The FCC was right not to set technology standards for analog-to-digital transition for cellular service and later when it allowed technology choice in the PCS band, he said. “People who were arguing in favor of a [mandatory] standard for digital cellular service were arguing for the standard that nobody in the world adopted and we'd have picked the wrong one if the government had actually picked,” he said. The U.S. is also ahead of Europe in terms of service flexibility, Pepper said: “The fact that the U.S. policy has allowed networks to work using existing spectrum has been enormously powerful and advantageous for the U.S. consumers.” In Europe, especially in the U.K. and Germany, wireless providers lack that flexibility, boosting spectrum prices, he said. “If you can’t use 2G spectrum you have today to provide 3G service tomorrow, you will pay anything [for 3G spectrum] because you have to have that license, you don’t have that flexibility to migrate technology [using the same spectrum],” Pepper said. Another advantage of U.S. public policy is “allowing transferability of licenses,” he said: “There is a big debate in a lot of countries today on whether or not licensees should be permitted to sell the license. We've allowed that since at least the 1940s. Secondary markets make very important adjustments in the market, let the market work.” Europe doesn’t allow use of secondary markets, he said: “If you want to shift a strategy or focus on another country in Europe, you can’t buy and sell licenses, you have to sell the whole company.” Pepper criticized “false choices in the debates in the U.S. and around the world: it has to be licensed or unlicensed, public safety or commercial, voice or data. These are all false choices. There is a place for both licensed and unlicensed.” Manhattan Institute Senior Fellow Thomas Hazlett again pushed for the govt. to allocate more spectrum for wireless services. “For public policy, more spectrum is a nice idea,” Hazlett said: “It improves competitiveness, lowers retail prices, increases efficiency and stimulates economic growth.” Hazlett said the recent wave of wireless consolidation was driven by demand for radio spectrum. For example, he said, after its merger with AT&T Wireless Cingular immediately floated plans for 3G deployment, while T-Mobile, which didn’t get a partner, “continues to lag behind its competitors in offering wide-area next generation services.” Hazlett said “greater flexibility for operators allows standards competition that has been successful” in the U.S. “These reforms can be pursued either through [regulatory] regime switches” or through “liberalizing the rules,” which is “something less onerous politically and more within reach for people who are serious short term and medium term reforms,” he said.

Partisan rancor Tues. over the House DTV bill revolved around Democratic loathing for the bill’s $990 million DTV converter box subsidy and failure to earmark money for first responders. The brickbats flew in opening statements at the House Commerce Committee mark-up.

The EU’s proposed domain name system (DNS) regulatory regime will stifle the IP community, said NTIA Dir. Michael Gallagher, speaking at a 3G Americas briefing Thurs. “If the EU’s new policy toward the DNS extends to wireless standards, you are probably going to see more and more devices like this in the EU,” he said, showing a big, old “brick” phone.

As the FCC finishes rules for the broadband radio service (BRS) and educational broadband service (EBS) bands, the Wireless Broadband Service Providers Assn. (WBSPA) urged the agency to impose strict service build- out requirements on current BRS stakeholders. WBSPA said the rulemaking’s major flaw is “lack of focus” on the “major deficiency of available spectrum resources” for use by future competitive wireless broadband providers. Although “some very limited” usable spectrum is available for such players, it said, none likely will be able to obtain enough spectrum to compete with the band’s incumbent, Sprint Nextel. Sprint Nextel has “simply warehoused” the vast majority of the band’s spectrum “for many, many years -- which it is still doing today,” WBSPA said. That’s the “central reason for the lack of available spectrum in the 2.5 GHz band,” it said. WBSPA urged the FCC to require BRS stakeholders, and “especially those warehousing spectrum,” to adhere to “very strict substantial service benchmarks, beginning 3 years after the effective date of new rules.” If anyone fails to adhere to the service build-out requirements, the spectrum should be reclaimed and auctioned to other entrants, it said: “This is the only way to guarantee this spectrum will be quickly put to the best and highest use.”

A draft Senate DTV bill would set April 7, 2009, as the hard transition date for requiring broadcasters to return analog spectrum to the govt., according to a copy of the bill circulated Fri. on Capitol Hill. The bill would put the Dept. of Commerce in charge of subsidies for consumer purchases of converter boxes to allow analog TVs to display digital signals. Commerce also would oversee conversion of low-power TV stations and TV translator stations from analog to digital, follow-through on the Enhance 911 Act of 2004, promotion of emergency communications and aid to coastal states affected by hurricanes. The bill sets Jan. 28, 2008, for the start of licenses of recovered spectrum.

Acting on reconsideration, the FCC amended and clarified parts of its 800 MHz rebanding rules. The Commission restated its challenged authority to grant Nextel spectrum rights to 10 MHz in the 1.9 GHz band as part of reconfiguring the band. It declined to change its valuation of spectrum rights in the 1.9 GHz and 800 MHz bands, especially in light of Nextel’s recent merger with Sprint.

The FCC should keep the 2.5 GHz technical rules unchanged, Clearwire told the agency, contrary to those such as the Wireless Communications Assn. seeking reconsideration. “The current rules work and are essential to our continuing to provide service,” Clearwire said. It said it had successfully deployed service in 16 markets using the current rules and plans to deploy in many more this year. “Any change to the existing rules will force us to cease launching service and spend an inordinate amount of time and resources redesigning equipment and system design to no real benefit,” the company said. It said it will work with any party that experiences interference under the current rules. Clearwire also urged the FCC to reject “requests for any restriction on deployment within the 2.5 GHz band prior to the completion of transition should be rejected. Adoption of such rules would serve only to impede deployment of new services to the public.” Clearwire also urged the FCC to require operators and licensees to “make a showing of substantial service” 5 years from the new rules’ effective date to avoid delays of deployment and transition to the new band. It also urged the Commission to “expeditiously auction vacant or defaulted EBS spectrum” and defaulted BTA licenses to “get the spectrum in the hands of those who most value it and would ensure deployment of new services to the public.”

The U.S. wireless telecom services industry has “enormously” contributed to the U.S. economy and needs a hands-off regulatory treatment to maintain a successful growth, speakers said at a CTIA event Mon. to release a study. In 2004, the wireless industry generated $118 billion revenue, and contributed $92 billion to the GDP, said the study by Ovum for CTIA.

The FCC said it reallocated the 2155-2160 MHz band for fixed and mobile services and designated the 2155-2175 MHz band for advanced wireless service (AWS) use. The new AWS spectrum comes in addition to the frequencies already allocated at 1710-1755 MHz/2110-2155 MHz and 2020-2025 MHz/2175-2180 MHz. The FCC also launched a rulemaking on BRS channels 1 and 2 relocation.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Commissioners’ aides suggested the FCC will take a hands-off approach to wireless broadband much as it has with cable modem and DSL. On a CTIA conference panel here late Tues., advisers to Chmn. Martin and Comrs. Abernathy and Adelstein stressed the Commission’s emphasis on regulatory parity and the success it claims from its historically light touch with wireless. But a non-interventionist thrust doesn’t mean the FCC wouldn’t act on social obligations like security, 911 and access for the disabled, or act in response to market failures, said Fred Campbell of Martin’s staff.