Telecom Business Alert -- Vol. IX Issue 48
FCC Seeks Comment on Progeny's Joint M-LMS Field Test Results
Last week, the FCC issued a Public Notice seeking comment on reports filed by Progeny purportedly demonstrating that its proposed M-LMS system will not cause unacceptable interference to Part 15 devices operating in the 902-928 MHz band. Last year, the FCC granted a waiver request by Progeny and allowed the company to test its higher power beacon service in the M-LMS Band (902-928 MHz). Progeny conducted a series of tests and filed its results with the FCC earlier this year indicating that its proposed operations would not result in unacceptable interference to Part 15 devices. Other groups, including the Wireless Internet Service Providers Association, dispute Progeny's contention. The Commission apparently intends to resolve the issue quickly, setting a short fuse for Comments (December 11, 2012) and Reply Comments (December 22, 2012). Please contact Greg Kunkle (202.434.4178; kunkle@khlaw.com) with questions.
FCC Reports to Congress on 11 GHz, 18 GHz and 23 GHz Rejection Rates
In response to the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, which required the FCC to determine whether the Microwave Bands are efficiently used, the FCC submitted to Congress last week a Report on the rate of rejection for common carrier applications seeking spectrum in the 11 GHz, 18 GHz and 23 GHz bands ("Microwave Bands"). The Report concluded that the rejection rate was zero for common carrier "applications" filed with the FCC between May 1, 2010 and November 7, 2012. In addition, the FCC noted that it was not able to reliably calculate the rejection rate for requests to "coordinate" systems in the Microwave Bands because it depends on information not collected by the agency or maintained by frequency coordinators. However, the FCC estimated that the rejection rate for coordination requests submitted to coordinators is "well under one percent." Please contact Wes Wright (202.434.4297; wright@khlaw.com) with questions.
"This Report demonstrates that critical infrastructure
entities and common carriers are efficiently
using the shared Microwave Bands."
–Wes Wright
Attorney, Keller and Heckman LLP
Satellite Licensees Seek FCC Approval for Wireless Broadband
The FCC is reviewing several proposals that would permit satellite licensees to provide terrestrial wireless broadband service. The FCC reportedly is circulating a draft Order that would permit Dish Network to provide wireless broadband service on 40 MHz of spectrum the company controls in the 2 GHz band – but at significantly lower output power and emission levels than requested by the company. Last week, the FCC also released a Public Notice seeking comment on LightSquared's request to modify its authorization that would require the company to relinquish its right to deploy terrestrial downlink operations at 1545-1555 MHz and relocate to 1670-1680 MHz. LightSquared currently is authorized to operate nationwide in the 1670-1675 MHz band and proposes to share the 1675-1680 MHz band with existing government users. GlobalStar filed a similar petition seeking FCC approval to use mobile satellite service (MSS) spectrum for wireless broadband. GlobalStar has proposed to partner with a wireless provider to use its MSS spectrum at 1610-1618.725 MHz (uplink) and 2483.5-2500 MHz (downlink) for mobile broadband service. For more information, please contact Greg Kunkle (202.434.4178; kunkle@khlaw.com).
House May Investigate Wireless Network Reliability Following Hurricane Sandy
Last week, House Commerce Committee Ranking Member Henry Waxman (D-Ca.) sent a letter to Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mi.) urging the Committee to hold a hearing focusing on how Hurricane Sandy impacted the performance and reliability of commercial wireless networks. Rep. Waxman wrote that "a hearing would allow us to investigate the reliability of the communications networks, to identify and highlight best practices and, where necessary, to address potential vulnerabilities in our communications infrastructure." The hearing may also examine the performance of copper and fiber optic wireline networks in light of Verizon's replacement of copper infrastructure impacted by Hurricane Sandy with fiber optic facilities. Please contact Doug Jarrett (202.434.4180; jarrett@khlaw.com) with questions.
Send Us Your Feedback
In an attempt to address in our weekly Telecom Business Alert the issues of most importance to the clients and friends of Keller and Heckman LLP, we invite you to submit suggestions on topics of interest to you. To make suggestions, please send an e-mail to TelecomAlert@khlaw.com.
Keller and Heckman LLP's Telecom Business Alert is a complimentary weekly electronic update created by the Telecommunications and the Business Counseling and Transactional practice groups of Keller and Heckman LLP.
To sign up for our weekly alert, please send us an email at TelecomAlert@khlaw.com and provide us with your name and email.