federal communications commission

Motorola submits new white space device to FCC

Thu, 15 May 2008 06:59:55 -0400

Amid the brouhaha over potential interference with wireless microphones and digital television signals in the white-space band, Motorola has presented the Federal Communications Commission with an updated version of a wireless device designed to work in the spectrum. Commission, which favors unlicensed white-space spectrum--that unused portion next to television signals, has already looked at devices from companies such as Microsoft and Philips Electronics. Early devices reportedly have not performed well in tests.

Motorola's device primarily looks at a database of existing spectrum licensees to avoid interfering with signals. According to a Dow Jones report, the vendor has now updated the device to include sensors for adjacent channels that uses "techniques commonly utilized in cellular phones and two-way radios," according to a draft of the FCC presentation.

The sensors are designed to detect "nomadic" wireless microphones to avoid interfering with circumstances such as "roving, unplanned news-gathering operations," the draft document says.

To read more about Motorola's white-space device:
- check out this Dow Jones article

FCC votes to resurrect public-safety network idea

Thu, 15 May 2008 06:59:53 -0400

The Federal Communications Commission unanimously decided to resurrect plans to create a nationwide emergency communications network after the D-block 700 MHz auction failed to garner a company willing to build a nationwide broadband network for both commercial and public-safety users.

The commission is now seeking public input on how it can modify this plan and make it more attractive to an operator. It also wants to know whether the concept should be scrapped altogether and the D block be auctioned for commercial use.

After the agency's 5-0 vote on the D block, Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.) introduced legislation to authorize $4 million to begin funding the Public Safety Spectrum Trust Corp., the 700 MHz public-safety broadband licensee that would partner with a winning commercial D-block bidder under the shared wireless broadband network model.

For more about the public-safety network concept:
- read this article from AP News
- check out this report from RCR Wireless News

Could the 700 MHz auction trigger spectrum caps?

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 06:59:58 -0400

Could the recently completed 700 MHz auction trigger spectrum caps--which were lifted in 2003--and other regulations on the mobile wireless industry?

Last week, some in Congress lamented that AT&T and Verizon Wireless walked away with the lion's share of the licenses. AT&T and Verizon Wireless spent $16 billion, or 85 percent of the total money raked in from the auction. Analysts believe the two now hold more than 95 megahertz of spectrum in several markets.

According to an article in BusinessWeek, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin told members of Congress during a hearing last week that he will look at whether the FCC should request winning bidders to dispose of some of that excess spectrum.

But Martin also found himself defending the auction and arguing against the notion that AT&T and Verizon won the lion's share of licenses. He pointed out that congressional leaders and other various parties had plenty of time last year to assist the FCC in crafting the auction rules. He also noted that small and rural providers won 500 licenses covering nearly 60 percent of the spectrum available outside the top 15 markets, in certain slices of spectrum that were available for sale at the auction. A total of 99 bidders other than Verizon and AT&T won 754 licenses-representing almost 70 percent of the licenses sold. And a bidder other than Verizon or AT&T won a license in every market.

Still, Verizon and AT&T spent the bulk of the money at auction. And that is to be expected. Simply put, these two incumbents have the wherewithal to spend billions on licenses and billions more to build out network infrastructure. That's their core business. And with the 700 MHz band the last of the so-called beach-front property, these operators were prepared to drive the price up to a hefty level, especially given the fact that new 4G networks need a nice chunk of extra spectrum, about 20 megahertz, to deliver the broadband data speeds that are advertised.

The FCC has tried in the past to make special concessions for new and smaller entrants with disastrous effects. The PCS C-block auction resulted in bankruptcies and a number of companies essentially serving as shell companies for large incumbents.

In the wireless broadband world, I'd have to say that we are seeing some smaller companies find their niche. TowerStream is offering pre-WiMAX in several markets, successfully targeting the enterprise market with services that fixed incumbents can't offer. Xanadoo has spectrum in the 2.5 GHz band and is targeting consumers and small- to medium-sized businesses with WiMAX services to compete with DSL and cable offerings. The ISP offers seven different pricing plans beginning at $15 per month with plans to soon launch a prepaid wireless broadband offering. This large number of pricing plans is how Xanadoo is differentiating itself from DSL and cable, which typically only offer two different plans and require bundling of services.

And many winners of 700 MHz spectrum have varying business plans, with CenturyTel, for instance, using wireless to extend DSL over rural areas. Some will offer TV services. We have yet to hear about many of the winners' business plans.

In light of this, it's too early for the FCC to make any rash decisions about placing additional regulations on the mobile industry. And Congress should wait to see what the impact of the 700 MHz auction will really be.--Lynnette

Public-private partnership can work

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 06:59:58 -0400

Congress took on the results of the 700 MHz auction this week. The House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet primarily focused on the failure of the D block to hit the $1.3-billion reserve and what should be done about helping public safety gain interoperable communications, a vital need during emergencies. (See Story No. 2)

It was heartening to hear that Congress and the FCC aren't abandoning the idea of helping out public safety. The FCC wants to continue down the path of a public-private partnership, whereby a commercial operator would run the network and give priority access to public-safety users. Some members of Congress continued to support the idea too.

With some significant tweaking of the rules, I believe the FCC can make this public-private partnership stipulation work. A $1.3-billion reserve price is quite a risk for any company embarking on a business that has never been done before. Clearly, investors had seen it as a risky proposition. Frontline had planned on building this nationwide, high-speed wireless network for public safety officials, but even with the backing of L. John Doerr of Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers, as well as other supporters, the company raised enough for the $128 million down payment, but not enough for the $1.3 billion reserve price on the spectrum. Subsequently, Frontline closed its doors before the auction began.

Hopefully Congress and the FCC will make some thoughtful decisions about the next round. The FCC was hamstrung before because it had to auction the 700 MHz spectrum by January 2008. There simply wasn't enough time to study the intricacies of such a complicated business proposal. --Lynnette

Congress takes on failure of D-block auction

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 06:59:56 -0400

The House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet this week took on failure of the D-block band to gain any reasonable bids during the 700 MHz auction. The result: There was no consensus on what the next plan should be.

The D-block spectrum carried a $1.3 billion reserve requirement and was designed as a public-private partnership whereby a commercial operator would run the network and give priority access to public safety.

During the hearing, some Congressional members said they agreed that the public-private partnership structure the FCC stipulated for the auction remain, but with some changes to attract more bidders. The changes might include a lower reserve price and greater detail regarding the business model for the winner of the spectrum. The FCC also favors this approach.

Others expressed interest in auctioning the D block without the public-private stipulation and using the proceeds to fund a nationwide public-safety network.

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said the FCC would welcome this or other federally funded alternatives, but that would be the decision of Congress, not the FCC.

To read more about the public-safety hearing:
- check out this article from MRT Magazine

Related articles:
- Frontline closes doors; D-block auction in question Report on D-block auction
- What does public safety do now? Editorial on D-block auction

SPOTLIGHT: Open access could reduce network investment

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 06:59:52 -0400

A study from the Phoenix Center released this week estimates broad application of the "open-platform" requirements mandated by the Federal Communications Commission for the upper 700 MHz C-block spectrum to the entire commercial wireless industry could reduce wireless network investment by $50 billion during the next 10 years. Article

Google steps up white-space efforts

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 07:59:56 -0400

Now that the 700 MHz spectrum auction is over, Google has turned its attention once again to the "white space" unlicensed spectrum debate: In a letter to the FCC, Google pressed the government to make the spectrum available for Internet services.

"As Google has pointed out previously, the vast majority of viable spectrum in this country simply goes unused, or else is grossly underutilized," Richard Whitt, Google's Washington telecom and media lawyer, wrote in the letter.

The white spaces reside between channels 2 and 51 on TVs that are not hooked up to cable, satellite or IPTV services. Whitt claimed that opening up the spectrum would "enable much-needed competition to the incumbent broadband service providers."

Whitt said Android-powered phones would be a "very nice match" for the unused spectrum but failed to elaborate.

For more on Google's white spaces plans:
- read this article in the WSJ (sub. req.)

Related articles:
Google, Philips, Moto submit white space devices Report
White space fight gets ugly Report
Google considering 700 MHz options Editorial

FCC changes broadband calculation rules

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 07:59:55 -0400

The Federal Communications Commission adopted new data collecting and reporting practices for helping to more accurately determine broadband penetration in the U.S. The FCC changed its methods after coming under heavy fire for using a model that was too lax in its definition of what constituted broadband speed, and was not capable of counting broadband adoption accurately at street level. With the new rules, broadband speeds are defined as beginning at 768 kbps rather than the old baseline of 200 kbps, and service providers must organize data based on the different speed tiers they offer. Also, companies must calculate broadband penetration by looking at census blocks, rather than the old way of looking at a zip code and counting it as conquered if broadband happened to be available for one household anywhere in that zip code. The FCC also said broadband speeds now have to be reported for both downloads and uploads.

For more about the FCC's changes:
- see this post at CNET News.com
- check out this survey commissioned by Tellabs that details broadband gaps

Related articles:
U.S. broadband growth slows Report
Broadband up in Europe Report

700 MHz auction finally over

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 07:59:55 -0400

After 261 rounds of bidding and more than $19.59 billion in provisionally winning bids, the 700 MHz auction (officially Auction 73) is over. Four out of the five spectrum blocks achieved their reserve prices, which enabled the auction to more than double expected revenues: the congressional estimate for the auction was $10.2 billion. During the past 15 years the FCC has conducted 68 spectrum auctions, which collectively generated $19.1 billion. Not only did the 700 MHz auction raise more money than any FCC spectrum auction before it, the latest auction managed to raise more than every other auction combined. The proceeds from the auction will be transferred to the U.S. Treasury by the end of June, and, according to the FCC, the money raised will support public safety and the digital television transition.

The four spectrum blocks that met their reserve prices were the Upper C Block, the A Block, B Block and the E Block. The winning bids for the C Block were on the 12 regional licenses that make it up rather than the nationwide package. The 12 bids total $4.75 billion, more than the C Block's reserve of $4.6 billion. Provisionally winning bids on the A, B, and E Blocks were $3.96 billion, $9.14 billion and $1.27 billion, respectively. Those three blocks collectively more than doubled their reserve price of $8.72 billion.

The D Block, of course, languished during the 700 MHz spectrum auction, with only one bid during the first round. Because the bid was well under the block's $1.3 billion reserve price. In a statement yesterday, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said that "the FCC is now evaluating its options for this spectrum" and that "the Commission remains committed to ensuring that we work to solve public safety's interoperability challenges."

No word yet on whether the FCC will start Auction 76, the Plan B auction which was to take place after Auction 73 in the case that a spectrum block failed to meet its reserve price. The FCC will have to decide which rules if any it would remove from the D Block and/or what it's new reserve price should be.

The FCC will announce the winning bidders in the coming weeks.

Related articles:
- Smaller 700 MHz bands generate interest Report
- Economy doesn't appear to hurt 700 MHz auction Editorial
- 700 MHz auction reaches $19 billion Report

Start-up looks to jump start secondary spectrum market

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 07:59:58 -0400

A start-up is building what it calls the world's first online, real-time market for wireless spectrum. Spectrum Bridge officially came out of stealth mode today, announcing the launch of its new business plan, which aims to simplify and enable the market for secondary spectrum access.

"After the 700 MHz auction is wrapped up, the FCC has no more desirable spectrum to auction for mobile broadband," Rick Rotondo, vice president of marketing with Spectrum Bridge, said in an interview with FierceBroadbandWireless. "We started looking into industry and government studies and found that in any given time and place, 80 percent to 94 percent of all allocated spectrum in the U.S. goes unused. We've done the measurements and found the same thing."

Spectrum Bridge's management team, comprised of former WiFi vendor Mesh Networks, which was sold to Motorola, realized that not all enterprises can rely on unlicensed WiFi networks. Many need to have access to licensed spectrum to enable higher-power networks. At the same time, many spectrum holders are sitting on vacant spectrum, realizing it's a valuable asset but not using it.

Spectrum Bridge is taking advantage of the fact that the FCC has given its blessing to the secondary spectrum market. Specifically, the FCC allows spectrum holders to disaggregate spectrum along frequency, time and coverage domain and basically create offerings for any amount of spectrum, any time, length and any size footprint up to the total amount of license. The problem is, most license-holders don't have the resources to come up with their own offerings nor is there a marketplace to make offers available to potential licensees.

That's where the real-time web site comes in. Spectrum Bridge, through some proprietary technology, aims to simplify the entire process of secondary market transactions, from identifying, packaging and pricing available spectrum to helping those who purchase the spectrum by offering a number of partners.

For instance, a license holder with 20 megahertz could create separate leasing offers, leasing 10 megahertz of its spectrum for two months to an enterprise for a retail price. Operators can more easily trade spectrum.

"This opens up a mass market for wireless operators to get access to affordable licensed spectrum," Rotondo said. "It allows a spectrum holder to monetize the unused portion of section assets.

The Web-based system will automatically configure the end user's wireless network to ensure compliance with appropriate regulatory service rules and automatically generate all required FCC filings for the spectrum transaction.

Spectrum Bridge hopes to get the business model and technology up and running later this year, with the spectrum exchange tool going live in the third quarter and the spectrum management application going online by the end of the year.

So for all those players that missed out on the 700 MHz auction, there is hope for spectrum.--Lynnette

Check out the company's web site.

FCC looks to wrap up 700 MHz auction

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 06:59:53 -0500

The FCC implemented "Stage 3" bidding rules for the 700 MHz auction this week in an attempt to flush out any remaining bids and quicken the bidding wars on some of the smaller slices of spectrum in the A and E blocks. As part of the third stage of bidding, all bidders must have at least 98 percent of the amount they were qualified to bid with invested in the auction. Since the third stage kicked in Tuesday morning, the FCC increased the number of bidding rounds to 10 per day. Bids per round increased from less than 10 to more than 20 in most rounds yesterday as a result of the new rules. Total provisionally winning bids stood at $19.58 million after 155 rounds Wednesday morning.

For more on the spectrum auction:
- check out our complete 700 MHz auction coverage

Related coverage:
Senator rips auction Report
Limping closer to auction's end Report

700 MHz Auction staggers closer to $20 billion

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 06:59:53 -0500

After 132 rounds of bidding in the FCC's 700 MHz auction, the commission has raised $19.6 billion. During the last round held Friday morning, 25 new bids brought in an additional $644,000, a negligible amount that signals the end of the auction is drawing ever closer. Some of the bids during the last round were for E Block slices in Maryland, Delaware, Louisiana, Virginia, Georgia and A Block slices in Georgia, Kentucky, North Dakota and South Carolina. So far, the FCC has auctioned off 1,089 licenses with winning bids on them.

For more on the auction:
- see our complete auction coverage here

Related articles:
Senator blasts auction Editorial
Same faces will win 700 MHz spectrum Editorial

The drama continues over white-space spectrum

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:59:55 -0500

The drama over white-space spectrum--those airwaves that sit between broadcasters' HDTV spectrum--continues as the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) claims the Federal Communications Commission's testing of a Microsoft prototype failed. It's a claim that the White Space Coalition says is untrue.

NAB, which has been a fierce opponent of the use of white spaces because of interference fears, declared earlier this month that a prototype submitted by Microsoft lost power during FCC testing. The power failure comes after another white spaces device malfunctioned in tests run by the FCC last year.

The White Space Coalition, which includes Microsoft, Philips, Dell and Google, says the NAB is mischaracterizing the issue. Ed Thomas, a tech adviser to the coalition and former chief of the FCC's Office of Engineering and Technology, said the power supply of the device failed after several hours of continuous testing, and it did not interfere with televisions signals because of the power failure.

Thomas said the NAB was engaged in "rhetoric" designed to complicate the FCC's device testing. "Let this be based on science, not politics," Thomas said of the FCC's tests. "Let the facts prevail."

NAB Executive VP Dennis Wharton disagreed, saying, "The devices they've tested haven't performed the way they were expected to perform. That, in our view, constitutes a failure."

If the FCC approves the devices this year, commercial white spaces wireless devices could be available as soon as late 2009. Testing is still going on at the FCC for several more weeks.

To read more about the the white space drama:
- check out this article from IDG News Service

Related articles:
FCC begins second round of white-space testing Report
Google, Philips, Moto submit white space devices Report

700 MHz auction creeps along

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:59:54 -0500

A handful of E-Block licenses were the subject of interest among the sparse remaining active bidders in the 700 MHz auction. The new bids propelled the auction's total winning bids to $19.52 billion. Only 40 new bids were placed during round 102 on Friday.

For more about the 700 MHz auction:
- check out this article from RCR Wireless News
- take a look at our 700 MHz coverage

Related articles:
Smaller 700 MHz bands generate interest Report
Economy doesn't appear to hurt 700 MHz auction Editorial
700 MHz auction reaches $19 billion Report

Smaller 700 MHz bands generate interest

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 06:59:56 -0500

The 700 MHz auction continues to crawl along, and the E-Block licenses are drawing the large bids. The block received $9.1 million in new bids during the first three rounds on Wednesday. B-Block licenses also generated interest yesterday, drawing 107 bids. The auction's total potential winning bid amount moved to $19.496 billion.

For more about the auction:
- read this article from RCR News
- check out our 700 MHz coverage

Related articles:
Economy doesn't appear to hurt 700 MHz auction Editorial
700 MHz auction reaches $19 billion Report

700 MHz auction reaches $19 billion

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 06:59:57 -0500

The 700 MHz auction reached $19 billion in bids yesterday as the Federal Communications Commission enacted new rules that make it more difficult for bidders to sit out rounds or make other stealth moves. Auction bidders had to use 95 percent of their bidding units during yesterday's rounds and all subsequent ones, instead of only 85 percent as in previous rounds. Stifel Nicolaus analyst Rebecca Arbogast said the new rule will "flush out people's positions."

For more on the auction:
- read this article from Forbes
- check out our full auction coverage

Economy doesn't appear to hurt 700 MHz auction

Mon, 04 Feb 2008 06:59:58 -0500

Fears about the economy's impact on the 700 MHz auction have been unfounded. After 26 rounds of bidding, the auction has raked in more than $18 billion in provisionally winning bids, exceeding the FCC's expectations of between $10 billion and $15 billion.

The auction comes at a time when a meltdown of the U.S. housing and subprime mortgage markets is hurting the ability of companies to raise money. Last month, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said he wasn't sure this was the right time to move forward with an auction but that the FCC's hands were tied because Congress requires the agency to proceed. Last week, Martin was singing a different tune: "It will probably exceed any other auction that we have had in the past," he said.

We still could see some impact of the economy on the auction, especially when it comes to rural telcos and small wireless ISPs. They don't have access to the capital larger bidders do. Moreover, it doesn't appear the D Block of 700 MHz band, the spectrum that is supposed to be set aside for a nationwide public-safety/commercial network, will get the minimum $1.3 billion bid set by the FCC. Only one bid was made on that Block, for $472 million. Perhaps the real test of the economy's impact will be whether non-traditional players--those whose core business isn't building wireless networks--were aggressive in the bidding.--Lynnette

U.S. Treasury to make big on 700 MHz auction

Mon, 04 Feb 2008 06:59:57 -0500

After 26 rounds of bidding, the 700 MHz auction has brought in more than $18 billion in provisionally winning bids, a total that exceeded FCC expectations. Originally, the FCC expected total winning bids to fall between $10 billion and $15 billion. The commission needed to ensure the auction raised at least $10 billion because Congress already had allocated that much of the proceeds from the auction. The $6.9 billion (and counting) leftover is profit for the Treasury Department.

During the 17th round last week, the C Block of spectrum met its reserve price of $4.6 billion with a bid that topped $4.7 billion. Meeting that target ensured the open access provisions on the block will go into effect. The D Block, however, continues to languish with only one $472 million bid from the first round of bidding last week.

For more on the auction:
- read our continuously updated coverage here
- also read this interview with Skype's Chris Libertelli about the auction results

Google asks FCC to ignore Sprint, T-Mobile

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 06:59:56 -0500

Google has asked the Federal Communications Commission to disregard requests from Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile to make white-space spectrum licensed spectrum for mobile backhaul services. Earlier this month the two operators filed comments with the FCC, saying white space spectrum--those airwaves that sit between the airwaves currently licensed to TV broadcasters--would interfere with licensed broadcasts and would be best suited for backhaul.

Google has filed a letter with the FCC, arguing that the operators' late comments in the white-space spectrum debate should be "set aside." Google called their suggestion to use the spectrum for backhaul "not the most efficient, or even marginal, use of the white spaces."

It appears, however, the FCC is quite keen on white-space spectrum ushering in more broadband competition. During its open meeting last week, the FCC announced its schedule for testing four new devices designed to operate in white-space spectrum. The FCC is reviewing four devices from Microsoft, Philips, Motorola and Adaptrum as part of Phase II of white space testing. The FCC laboratory will commence testing the devices next week and expects the tests to continue for about four to six weeks. Field testing will follow the lab tests and take an additional four to six weeks.

For more about Google's opposition to Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile:
- read this report from Dow Jones

Related articles:
Google steps up white-space efforts Article
White-space fight gets ugly Article

Frontline closes doors; D-block auction in question

Thu, 10 Jan 2008 06:59:56 -0500

Frontline Wireless--the wireless startup that lobbied hard to make the private-public partnership licensing scheme a reality in the 700 MHz band for public safety--has shut down operations after failing to raise enough money to bid in the upcoming 700 MHz auction, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. Frontline had planned on building a nationwide, high-speed wireless network for public safety officials, but even with the backing of L. John Doerr of Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers, as well as other supporters, the company raised enough for the $128 million down payment, but not enough for the $1.3 billion reserve price on the spectrum.

Frontline's move could represent a serious setback for auction of the D-block band--which is reserved for an auction winner that plans to build a network for public safety and commercial customers--as it is believed Frontline is the only entity set to bid on the spectrum.

For more on Frontline shutting down:
- read this article from the WSJ (sub. req.)
- check out this report from Mobile Radio Technology Magazine

Related articles:
FCC eases small-business rules for 700 MHz auction Article
Frontline, Cyren Call squabble over 700 MHz plans Article
FCC allows wholesaling for public safety bidders Article