AWS-3

FCC's Martin circulates new AWS-3 plan

Lynnette Luna — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 13:54:30 -0500

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin is circulating a new plan to auction the AWS-3 spectrum that drops the requirement that the winning bidder, which would be required to offer free wireless broadband services, filter pornography. According to ARS Technica, Martin has already circulated a new version of the plan, which apparently he wants to the FCC to vote on before a new FCC comes in later in January.

"I'm saying if this is a problem for people, let's take it away," Martin said in an interview with ARS Technica. "A lot of public interest advocates have said they would support this, but we're concerned about the filter. Well, now there's an item in front of the commissioners and it no longer has the filter. And I've already voted for it without the filter now. So it's already got one vote."

Martin for some time has championed a nationwide licensee in the 2155 MHz to 2175 MHz band that would to dedicate 25 percent of its network capacity to free broadband service, install a network-based Internet filtering system to block pornography and allow open access to third-party devices and applications. Martin canceled the scheduled Dec. 18 vote on the plan after receiving a letter from key lawmakers urging him to delay the vote in order to focus on the transition to digital TV.

But Public Knowledge, Consumers Union, and the Media Access Project, among other groups, have suggested that the basic idea, without the smut filtering and stronger open access requirements, has merit. "We appreciate the potential of a new service that could provide a genuine alternative to the current wireline cable modem/DSL duopoly," they have written.

For more:
- read ARS Technica

Related articles:
FCC cancels December vote on AWS-3
T-Mobile fires back at M2Z ahead of AWS-3 auction

New FCC likely will take up free broadband wireless plan

Lynnette Luna — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 10:20:27 -0500

It looks like a new FCC will be taking up the issue of a free wireless broadband plan in the AWS-3 band after FCC Chairman Kevin Martin canceled the FCC's Dec. 18 meeting where the vote was expected to happen.

Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-West Va., and Rep. Henry Waxman, D.-Calif., who will chair the committees overseeing the FCC in the next Congress, sent a letter asking Martin to hold off on the vote. The two asked Martin and the FCC to instead focus more on the complex issues associated with the digital TV transition that will take place Feb. 19.

The free wireless Internet proposal, heavily favored by Martin, would create a nationwide license in the 2155-2180 MHz band and require the winning bidder to open up 25 percent of its network for free broadband access with a filter to keep pornography off of it. M2Z Networks has lobbied for these rules for two years, while T-Mobile USA was working hard at the FCC to change the proposed rules to mitigate potential harmful interference between the AWS-3 band and the some $4 billion worth of spectrum it owns in the AWS-1 band.

"It would be counter-productive for the FCC to consider unrelated items, especially complex and controversial items that the new Congress and new Administration will have an interest in reviewing," Rockefeller and Waxman said in the letter.

The FCC decided to cancel the meeting as it faces continual pressure to hold off on voting on the issue. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez last week expressed the White House's displeasure with the plan. The Bush administration opposes the strings the FCC is attaching to the spectrum, mainly the requirement that the winning bidder must offer part of the network for free.

"We received the letter from Senator Rockefeller and Congressman Waxman today and spoke with other offices," said FCC spokesman Robert Kenny on Friday. "In light of the letter, it does not appear that there is consensus to move forward and the agenda meeting has been canceled."

M2Z said the vote constitutes a violation of statutory deadlines and a violation of the Communications Act. The company cited an October letter from Rep. Hilda Solis, D.-Calif., and a member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, to Martin that says action on AWS-3 technically should have been taken by Sept. 6 because of deadline provisions in the Communications Act.

For more:
- check out the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.)
- see this post on the Rockefeller-Waxman letter
- see the Solis letter here

Related articles:
White House opposes FCC plan on AWS-3
Interference, competition and more musings over proposed free wireless broadband plan

Telecom operators urge FCC to change proposed AWS-3 auction rules

Lynnette Luna — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 15:25:26 -0500

A group of wireless and wireline carriers including T-Mobile, CTIA, U.S. Cellular and the Independent Telephone & Telecommunications Alliance filed a letter with the FCC asking the commission to consider changing its proposed rules pertaining to the AWS-3 auction the FCC plans to vote on Dec. 18.

The FCC wants to auction a nationwide license in the 2155-2180 MHz band that would require the winning bidder to open up 25 percent of its network for free broadband access. M2Z has been lobbying the FCC for these rules as the company said it was capable of capitalizing on such a business plan. The letter urges the FCC to adopt rules that allow multiple opportunities for companies to compete for licenses.

"Contrary to assertions by M2Z, we believe that this spectrum is very valuable," the group wrote. "Specifically, the commission should adopt rules that enable multiple opportunities for new wireless broadband deployments across the country and reject, once and for all, the M2Z-backed proposal that would mandate (as opposed to permit) a single company's business plan and technical requirements and threaten the prospects of mobile wireless broadband competitors utilizing the adjacent bands."

T-Mobile is concerned about AWS-3 band signals interfering with its AWS-1 spectrum operations. An FCC engineering report concluded interference wasn't a problem, but T-Mobile begs to differ.

President Bush's top telecom policy adviser, Meredith Attwell Baker, also disagrees with the stipulations FCC Chairman Kevin Martin wants to place on the licensee.

In particular, the group of operators want the FCC to take the following actions: License the spectrum within smaller geographic areas and change the band plan in a way the operators say would optimize broadband services. They want the AWS-3 band paired with the J block to create a single asymmetric license combining the 2020-2025 MHz block used for uplink with the 2155-2180 MHz block used for downlink. The also propose that the FCC license the AWS-3 spectrum in multiple spectrum blocks.

Related articles:
NTIA head opposes AWS-3 auction stipulations
FCC Chairman looking to vote on D-block, AWS-3 auctions next month
T-Mobile, others file opposition to FCC's AWS-3 test results

NTIA head opposes AWS-3 auction stipulations

Lynnette Luna — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 23:30:00 -0500

As the FCC prepares to vote on the controversial AWS-3 auction Dec. 18, President Bush's top telecom policy adviser, Meredith Attwell Baker, is disagreeing with the stipulations FCC Chairman Kevin Martin wants to place on the licensee. Martin wants to require the winning bidder to offer up 25 percent of its network capacity for free broadband service, filter out pornography and provide service to at least 95 percent of the U.S. population within a 10-year timeframe.

"Auctions without price or product mandates create a level playing field. Restrictions and conditions on spectrum use, however well intentioned, are not the most effective or efficient way to encourage development of services or to assist underserved areas," stated Baker, acting head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, in a Nov. 18 letter to Rep. K. Michael Conaway (R-Texas.). "Subject to appropriate government rules to prevent harmful interference, government should rely on market forces to determine the best use of spectrum."

Moreover, T-Mobile and other commercial operators remain concerned about possible interference the AWS-3 band could pose to network operators in the AWS-1, where T-Mobile owns a significant amount of spectrum. The FCC said its own engineering tests show interference isn't a problem, while T-Mobile begs to differ and could file suit if the FCC moves ahead with the plan.

For more:
- read RCR News

Related articles:
FCC Chairman looking to vote on D-block, AWS-3 auctions next month
T-Mobile, others file opposition to FCC's AWS-3 test results

T-Mobile, others file opposition to FCC's AWS-3 test results

Lynnette Luna — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 16:28:53 -0400

T-Mobile along with AT&T, Nokia, Ericsson, Motorola, Nortel, Qualcomm, U.S. Cellular and CTIA filed comments that oppose the FCC's Office of Engineering and Technology's (OET) report that use of the AWS-3 band would not pose an interference threat to to the adjacent AWS-1 band occupied by T-Mobile, AT&T and others.

The filers argue AWS-3 spectrum use would cause harmful interference to networks in the AWS-1 band and claim the OET's report was erroneous as the group used incorrect variables in modeling assumptions and made mistakes in logic regarding power levels as well as incorrect estimates of overload interference effects. The group of companies want the OET to reconsider its findings.

The FCC wants to auction the AWS-3 band on a nationwide basis and require the winning bidder to dedicate 25 percent of its network capacity to free broadband service and allow open access to third-party devices and applications. M2Z has been lobbying the FCC to move forward with the auction plan and accuses incumbents such as T-Mobile of stifling competition.

"When generally accepted engineering practices are utilized, it is clear that AWS-3 operations under the Commission's proposed technical limits will cause significant and frequent harmful interference to millions of American consumers," they wrote.

The FCC has not indicated when it will vote to move forward on the issue, but T-Mobile has said it could possibly file a lawsuit if the FCC still votes to move ahead on the plan.

For more:
- read Wireless Week

Related articles:
T-Mobile plans to file objection to FCC AWS-3 interference findings
AWS-3, white spaces clear initial hurdles but will they survive?
FCC: AWS-3 band won't interfere with T-Mobile's WCDMA network

FCC: AWS-3 band won't interfere with T-Mobile's WCDMA network

Lynnette Luna — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:19:55 -0400

Much to the chagrin of T-Mobile, FCC's Office of Engineering has tentatively concluded that services operating in the proposed AWS-3 band can co-exist with T-Mobile's WCDMA network that uses the adjacent AWS-1 band "without a significant risk of harmful interference."

Last month, the FCC sent its engineers to Seattle to conduct tests to determine whether interference would be a problem between the two bands. The FCC is keen on auctioning the 2155-2180 MHz band to support a nationwide license. The commission's ambition is to require the licensee to dedicate 25 percent of its network capacity to free broadband service and allow open access to third-party devices and applications.

T-Mobile has been adamantly opposed to the plan, citing interference concerns. M2Z, which has been lobbying the FCC for years to open up the band, has been submitting filings saying T-Mobile's assertions are wrong. The FCC published the raw data from the study Sept. 12 but refrained from interpreting the results as it continues with the AWS-3 rulemaking proceeding. T-Mobile was pushing the FCC to release those results.

The FCC said it conducted the same tests conducted by Optimi Corp. on behalf of T-Mobile. The results of that study, T-Mobile said, show AWS-3 services cause harmful interference to mobile devices in the AWS-1 band. AT&T, CTIA, MetroPCS and Nokia Siemens Networks have concurred with T-Mobile that the tests proved interference.

The FCC's tentative conclusion certainly won't be the last word on the subject. T-Mobile has continually reminded the FCC that it has a legal obligation to protect AWS-1 licensees. The FCC acknowledged in its report that the FCC "has in the past adopted less stringent [out-of-band-emissions] standards under flexible service rules whereby the licensees and industry work together cooperatively to manage potential interference."

For more:
- check out the FCC's report

Related articles:
T-Mobile asks FCC to explain AWS-3 test results
AWS-3 spectrum debate festers
T-Mobile takes M2Z to task over AWS-3 auction arguments
T-Mobile, others say tests proved interference
M2Z: T-Mobile's interference argument over AWS-3 spectrum flawed

Intel weighs in on AWS-3 debate

Lynnette Luna — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 22:40:03 -0400

Intel is weighing in on what has become a highly contentious debate between M2Z and T-Mobile over the FCC's proposed AWS-3 auction that would create a 25-megahertz swath of spectrum to support a nationwide license. The chip giant wants to ensure that the FCC doesn't change the proposed interference protections that T-Mobile is fighting so hard against. Doing so, Intel argued, could have a negative impact on the deployment of WiMAX in the TDD band.

M2Z and T-Mobile have been trading barbs over the interference issue. T-Mobile claims existing interference protections are adequate for the AWS-3 band, which is adjacent to the vast amounts of AWS spectrum T-Mobile already owns. FCC engineers conducted interference tests at a Boeing facility near Seattle in early September, but have not made the results public.

Intel said in a filing that any further changes in interference limits "could have global implications in the deployment of new services using TDD technology such as WiMAX." As such, Intel agrees with M2Z that the potential instances of interference are minor for T-Mobile.

T-Mobile has submitted to the FCC a statistical analysis that concluded the "probability of call failure is greater than 60 percent for AWS-1 users with AWS-3 routers in their homes and nearly 30 percent if their neighbor is operating an AWS-3 router."

For more:
- check out RCR News

Related articles:
T-Mobile asks FCC to explain AWS-3 test results
AWS-3 spectrum debate festers
T-Mobile, others say tests proved interference
FCC to begin AWS-3 interference tests
M2Z asks FCC to reject more AWS-3 interference tests

T-Mobile files another argument against AWS-3 services

Peggy Albright — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 23:25:11 -0400

T-Mobile, which has filed a flurry of documents to the FCC to bolster its position that wireless services offered in AWS-3 spectrum will adversely affect the services its customers receive on AWS-1 spectrum, has just submitted additional documentation to the commission that it says further substantiates its case. The documents, which T-Mobile shared with FierceWirelessBroadband, represent the company's second move in less than a week to persuade the FCC against proceeding with its plans to auction AWS-3 spectrum for a nationwide network. The documents are also T-Mobile's latest move against M2Z Networks, which wants to offer a nationwide service via AWS-3 spectrum.

T-Mobile's new filing, submitted on Tuesday, presents results of a network simulation and statistical analysis that was conducted by Optimi Corp. on behalf of T-Mobile. The results of the study, T-Mobile said, support the findings from recent FCC tests in Seattle confirming that AWS-3 services cause harmful interference to mobile devices in the AWS-1 band. AT&T, CTIA, MetroPCS and Nokia Siemens Networks have concurred with T-Mobile that the tests proved interference. The FCC is not providing any interpretation of those tests while it proceeds with its AWS-3 rulemaking, though it has published the raw data.

The new Optimi study, T-Mobile said, is important because it employed the same types of research methods used by two firms, ERA Technology in the UK and Alion Science and Technology in the U.S., whose research M2Z has used to support its claims that AWS-3 and AWS-1 services can coexist. Yet in its new filing, T-Mobile argues the ERA and Alion studies were limited in scope and flawed because they didn't consider some important real-world conditions. T-Mobile's more extensive study, the company said, proves interference would be real, serious, and highly likely.

M2Z has not filed responses to these two latest filings from T-Mobile.

T-Mobile asks FCC to explain AWS-3 test results

Peggy Albright — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 16:58:17 -0400

T-Mobile is urging the FCC's Office of Engineering and Technology to explain the outcome of tests it recently conducted to determine if AWS-3 services will interfere with services that run operate on AWS-1 spectrum. The tests, which FCC engineers conducted at a Boeing facility near Seattle in early September, could influence the commission's plan to auction AWS-3 spectrum for a nationwide, free wireless broadband network.

In its latest filing to the FCC, submitted on Friday, T-Mobile asked the commission to "put its tentative conclusions regarding the Boeing lab tests on the record."

The FCC published the raw data from the study Sept. 12 but refrained from interpreting the results as it continues with the AWS-3 rulemaking proceeding. T-Mobile, and its rival in this controversy, M2Z Networks, obviously are anxious about the impact the tests might have. T-Mobile opposes the AWS-3 auction because of interference concerns; it, AT&T, CTIA, MetroPCS and Nokia Siemens Networks all claimed in a Sept. 10 filing that the tests proved that interference will be a problem. M2Z, a leading proponent of the AWS-3 initiative, claimed otherwise--that the tests proved AWS-3 services would not interfere--in a Sept. 23 filing to the commission.

"We appreciate the OET's willingness to engage in testing and the fact that OET staff publicly released its data from the tests, but a full record should include the engineers' views on whether they think the tests show that the proposed rules will create harmful interference and why or why not," Thomas Sugrue, T-Mobile's vice president for government affairs, wrote to the FCC. "A reasonable comment period would give the public a chance to review those conclusions before the Commission acts in reliance on them."

T-Mobile made the request, which it shared with FierceBroadbandWireless, in its response to comments that M2Z had filed with the commission earlier last week. In the T-Mobile filing, Sugrue also said his company is willing to conduct additional FCC tests, either at the Boeing lab or a certified lab of M2Z's choosing, to confirm the validity of the original Boeing lab tests.

Related articles:
AWS-3 spectrum debate festers
T-Mobile, others say tests proved interference
FCC to begin AWS-3 interference tests
M2Z asks FCC to reject more AWS-3 interference tests

More wrangling over AWS-3 interference tests

Peggy Albright — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 00:30:59 -0400

The debate over whether the FCC should forge ahead with its plans to create a 25-megahertz swath of spectrum, known as AWS-3, is still festering. Proponent M2Z Networks issued a press release today saying the FCC's interference testing has confirmed that any proposed wireless broadband service in this spectrum would not cause interference with company's offering service on adjacent bands. Article.

FCC to begin AWS-3 interference tests

Lynnette Luna — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 13:15:31 -0400

The FCC, champing at the bit to auction spectrum in the AWS-3 band for a nationwide broadband network that will offer free service, is sending its engineers to Seattle next week to commence tests that will determine whether signals coming from this band would interfere with T-Mobile's WCDMA network in the adjacent AWS-1 band. FCC engineers plan to use some of T-Mobile's own equipment to conduct the tests, and they will also set their own testing parameters.

The FCC wants to create a 25-megahertz swath of spectrum, known as AWS-3, that would support a nationwide license. The agency would require the licensee to dedicate 25 percent of its network capacity to free broadband service, install a network-based Internet filtering system to block pornography and allow open access to third-party devices and applications. T-Mobile has been adamantly opposed to the plan, citing interference concerns. M2Z, which wants to bid on the spectrum, has been submitting filings saying T-Mobile's assertions are wrong.

For more:
- check out Cellular-News

Related stories:
M2Z: T-Mobile's interference argument over AWS-3 spectrum flawed
M2Z asks FCC to reject more AWS-3 interference tests
T-Mobile takes M2Z to task over AWS-3 auction arguments

CTIA opposes FCC's free wireless broadband plan

Lynnette Luna — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 22:56:53 -0400

The comment deadline for the FCC's controversial plan to auction nationwide spectrum in the AWS-3 band that would require the winner to offer free wireless broadband services was Friday, and not surprisingly, T-Mobile and CTIA are openly opposing the plan.

The commission is proposing to combine the 2155 to 2175 MHz band with the 2175 MHz to 2180 MHz band to create a 25-megahertz swath of spectrum that would support a nationwide license. The spectrum is referred to as advanced wireless services-3 and would require the licensee to dedicate 25 percent of its network capacity to free broadband service, install a network-based Internet filtering system to block pornography and allow open access to third-party devices and applications.

T-Mobile has already been vocal about its concerns over potential interference in the band since it is the largest licensee of AWS-1 spectrum. CTIA claims the FCC is not dealing in good faith with T-Mobile.

"How can the FCC expect investors and the carriers they fund to show up at future auctions and fully utilize their spectrum if they have no confidence that the FCC is an honest broker?" the CTIA said in a June 25 letter to the FCC. "Now the FCC is planning to pull the rug out from under those same licensees by developing new rules that will cause harmful interference to their customers."

Reply comments to the FCC are due Aug. 11.

For more:
-read eWeek

Related stories:
T-Mobile calls for delay of FCC's free wireless broadband initiative. T-Mobile story
Anxiety rises over FCC's AWS-3 auction plans. Auction story
Report: AWS-3 license would fetch $2.8B without FCC's condition. AWS-3 story