The FCC is expected to almost immediately notify the NTIA of plans to move forward with an advanced wireless services auction after the spectrum relocation bill (HR- 5419) is signed by President Bush, sources said. Once the notification goes forward the govt. has 12 months to calculate costs and set a schedule for relocation and must notify the FCC 6 months before an actual auction. DoD has indicated it has already completed substantial work on calculating its costs. “I think FCC is ready to signal that they want to move this forward and are ready to proceed with an auction,” said one carrier source. “That’s good news for anyone who wants to see an auction.” T-Mobile CEO Robert Dotson said in a statement that creation of the fund is “an important and very positive advance for the development of the wireless industry in the United States and the provision of expanded advanced wireless services to consumers across America.”

Nextel decided not to participate in PCS Auction 58 starting Jan. 26, the company confirmed Fri. Nextel is among the more spectrum-constrained of the 5 national carriers, with about 28 MHz of spectrum nationally, provided it accepts the FCC 800 MHz rebanding plan. The company was considered likely to bid for licenses in the first major PCS auction in several years.

The FCC approved a hotly contested order to establish an auction that would “let the market” decide whether the air-to-ground (ATG) market will consist of an exclusive or overlapping licenses to offer broadband on commercial airliners. The Commission also launched an investigation of rules governing the use of wireless phones on airliners.

The FCC is likely to move quickly to schedule a 3G auction within 18 months as called for in HR-5419, which cleared the Senate late Wed. (see separate story). Sources said passage of the bill is a huge development for the wireless industry, which will likely drive down prices in Jan.’s PCS Auction 58 while forcing carriers to lay out their 3G strategies. The legislation also could lay the groundwork for a new way of making more spectrum available at auction.

Wireless carriers told the FCC that if it proceeds with an auction of H and J block PCS spectrum, proper controls must be in place to protect other spectrum incumbents. Carriers spelled out the levels of controls they believe are necessary in filings at the FCC in response to a proposed rulemaking on auction service rules.

Four wireless orders, 2 hotly contested, are on the agenda for the FCC’s Dec. 15 meeting: (1) The air-to- ground (ATG) order, developed by the Wireless Bureau, will start the process of an auction of 4 MHz of spectrum for use by passengers on commercial airline flights. The build-up to the order has seen a big fight between AirCell and Boeing, which want the FCC to offer multiple licenses, against Verizon’s Airfone, which favors a single license. (2) The FCC scheduled a vote on an International Bureau order on rules for radio transmitters on ships, known as earth stations on board vessels (ESVs), which has seen a battle between the satellite industry and fixed wireless operators. (3) The Commission will be asked to vote on a report and order by the Office of Engineering & Technology on ultra wideband, which is not very controversial. (4) The Commission will consider a revision of the rules for airborne cellular calls, an item related to the ATG issue. Also on the agenda is a Wireline Bureau item on the universal service support mechanism for rural health care. As expected, the TRO remand order is on the agenda (see story elsewhere).

NextWave disclosed in a filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, White Plains, that it plans to reemerge as a going concern after all, after buying ITFS spectrum from the Archdiocese of N.Y. A reorganization plan filed with the court Tues. says that after selling its remaining PCS spectrum to Verizon Wireless for $3 billion and paying its debts in full, the new NextWave will reemerge with $265 million in hand and the intention of becoming a broadband provider.

Whether operators will be allowed to use the same spectrum set aside for air-to-ground (ATG) communications to offer “ancillary” services on the ground has emerged as a major issue on the 8th floor as an ATG order steams forward. The Commission appears to remain on track for a Dec. 15 vote but must address the latest complication.

EchoStar and DirecTV are barred from purchasing a DBS license or leasing spectrum for the only 2 remaining unassigned channels in the 12-GHz band that can provide service to the eastern portion of the country, the FCC said Dec. 3. The FCC Wireless Bureau is now able to schedule an auction for the license, under the order. The eligibility restrictions being imposed on channels 23 and 24, located at 61.5 degrees W, are effective immediately and end 4 years after the award of the initial license, the FCC said. The recently auctioned DBS channels at 157 degrees, 166 degrees and 175 degrees W are located so far west of the continental U.S. that they're unable to serve certain eastern parts of the country. In a previous filing, Rainbow DBS had contended that the Commission should prohibit EchoStar and DirecTV from eligibility for the 2 channels because, given the market power they possess, the operators have a strong incentive to acquire the channels to foreclose rivals. Rainbow DBS and EchoStar are each licensees of 11 channels at 61.5 degrees W. EchoStar had said eligibility restrictions were “unnecessary and probably unlawful” and the restrictions that Rainbow DBS was pushing would make it the only qualified applicant. Rainbow DBS has been leasing the 2 channels temporarily since Oct. 2003. EchoStar said they were disappointed with the decision and added that the transponders could have been helpful in their transition to one dish for local-to-local service, which has been mandated by recent legislation. Rainbow DBS and DirecTV declined to comment on the order.

High tech companies, anxious to open up more spectrum for Wi-Fi and other unlicensed uses, strongly supported an FCC proposal to allow the use of “white spaces” between TV channels, in comments on a proposed rulemaking. In general, high tech companies view the lower-frequency spectrum as especially valuable for unlicensed use because of its superior propagation characteristics. As expected, broadcasters slammed the plan. Cable operators cited a potential threat to their operations.