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Wavelengths
As 700 MHz auction slows, public
safety left in limbo
By Donny Jackson
February 8, 2008
After seven days of frenetic action, bidding in the 700 MHz auction
calmed considerably this week, as the cumulative total of high bids has
moved from $18.5 billion last Friday to $19.1 billion this morning -- an
increase of just 3.2% for the week.
"The air is getting thin," Roger Entner, senior vice president of
communications for IAG Research, said during an interview today with
MRT. "All the wannabes are being washed out."
Because of the FCC's anonymous-bidding rules for this auction, we don't
know the identities of the high bidders to this point. Of course, that
hasn't prevented analysts from speculating that AT&T Mobility is very
active in the A and B blocks that are adjacent to spectrum it purchased
from Aloha Partners before the auction, that Qualcomm is the leading
bidder for the unpaired E Block and that Verizon Wireless trumped a bid
from search-engine giant Google for the C Block.
Entner said he's read the speculation but declined to comment on such
notions. However, the fact that the top C Block bid is greater than the
FCC's $4.6 billion reserve price is significant, because it triggers
open-access rules Google has sought in the wireless space.
"Basically, Google got its wish when [C Block bidding] broke through the
reserve price," Entner said.
Meanwhile, action on the 10 MHz D Block -- the winner of which is
supposed to establish a shared wireless broadband network with public
safety -- has been nonexistent since a single first-round bid of $472
million, which pales in comparison to the FCC's reserve price of $1.3
billion.
Some analysts had speculated that interest in the D Block might be
revitalized after the C Block bidding settled. However, there have been
no new bids on the significant C Block licenses in the last 19 rounds,
and a second bid still has not been made for the D Block. At this point,
few expect that situation to change.
"Nothing will happen," Entner said of future D Block action.
If D Block bidding does not meet the FCC reserve price, the commission
will have to decide whether to accept a below-reserve-price bid or
reauction the spectrum. At the Association of Public Safety
Communications Officials (APCO) Winter Summit in Orlando last week,
Derek Poarch -- chief of the FCC's Public Safety and Homeland Security
Bureau -- declined to speculate on the matter.
Although some analysts believe the FCC legally could accept a bid that
doesn't meet the reserve price, Entner said he believes the agency
should reauction the spectrum under such a scenario.
"A competition of one [bidder] is not really a competition," he said.
"If you only have one bidder and that bidder is only willing to bid a
third of the reserve price, you should rethink what you're actually
intending to do."
In addition, should the FCC accept a bid below its reserve price, the
action very possibly could invite a host of lawsuits from entities
claiming they decided not to participate in the D Block auction because
the reserve price was out of their reach, which would lead to court
battles that could tie up the spectrum for a lengthy period.
Of course, a reauction also means a delay in the beginning of potential
negotiations between the Public Safety Spectrum Trust (PSST) and the D
Block winner. During this time, there's sure to be lots of
fingerpointing -- at the FCC for pursuing the public-private partnership
idea, at the PSST for releasing a bidder information document that
scared off potential bidders and at Congress for focusing spectrum
auctions on revenue generation, which forces the FCC to adopt reserve
prices.
Hopefully, such allegations will be kept to a minimum, and the
shared-network concept will be tweaked only in a minor way, such as a
lowering of the reserve price. However, expect potential bidders to seek
greater clarity and fewer -- also less stringent -- public-safety
obligations.
Meanwhile, this is an election year that will deliver a new president,
which adds a significant dynamic to the mix. If the D Block spectrum is
reauctioned with similar rules, the FCC's review of a deal with the PSST
quite possibly could occur during the wacky transitional period in
Washington, D.C., between the election and inauguration.
For public safety, this could create still more delays. For a potential
D Block bidder, it introduces yet another unknown into this already
complex puzzle: Will the network-sharing agreement be reviewed by the
current FCC led by Chairman Kevin Martin, or will it be reviewed by an
FCC led by another chairman, quite possibly with different policy ideas
and perhaps a different party affiliation?
It's just another complication that makes me glad I only have to write
about this situation, not make the difficult economic/political
decisions that promise to greatly impact public safety and its potential
commercial partner in the 700 MHz band.
E-mail me at djackson@mrtmag.com.
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In the news
BelAir
introduces mesh node for public safety, intelligent
transportation
By Donny Jackson
Feb 8, 2008
BelAir Networks recently announced the availability of
mobile mesh nodes that can operate in the 4.9 GHz frequency allocated
for public safety and the 5.9 GHz band for Intelligent Transportation
Services (ITS) that meet connectivity requirements in vehicles traveling
as fast as 150 miles per hour
Exalt
Communications announces 4.9 GHz backhaul system
By Donny Jackson
February 8, 2008
Wireless-backhaul solutions provider Exalt
Communications recently announced the general availability of its
high-capacity solution operating in the 4.9 GHz band that is used by
public safety.
Click here for more
Top News
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