Small Carriers Say Signs Point to FCC Action on 700 MHz Interoperability

Genachowski said at the time the NPRM was approved he preferred a “private, industry-led solution” to regulation. The message of small carriers at the commission has been negotiations on such a solution have advanced little in a year and it’s time for the FCC to step in, officials of small carriers tell us. They hope for a vote by the current commission before Genachowski eventually leaves the agency.

Steve Berry, president of the Competitive Carriers Association, told us Wednesday he was encouraged by comments by Wireless Bureau Chief Ruth Milkman Tuesday on the importance of interoperability (CD Feb 27 p3). CCA has been a leading proponent of an interoperability mandate.

"I was pleased with Ruth Milkman’s comments suggesting the commission is likely to ensure interoperability in the 700 MHz band,” Berry said Wednesday. “The record in the current interoperability proceeding supports this position, and the FCC must act now to correct the anticompetitive impact on the market. The interoperability proceeding has been before the Commission for over three years, and consumers and the economy cannot afford further delay by the FCC on a decision to restore interoperability.” Continued fragmentation of the lower 700 MHz band “has harmed competition, stifled innovation and ultimately harmed consumers, and FCC action is required to prevent these negative impacts going forward,” Berry said. “Experts have shown that interoperability is technologically and economically feasible and also will offer numerous benefits to the economy, including job growth. All the proverbial pieces are in place, and the FCC needs to act on interoperability. I look forward to our continued work with the commission to ensure interoperability soon becomes a reality."

"We're encouraged by a high level of activity at the Wireless Bureau on this issue,” said a small carrier executive who has been active on the issue. “Given that level of activity we're also encouraged by what Ruth Milkman had to say [Tuesday], which acknowledges the real problem that the lack of interoperability has been in the lower 700 MHz and the problem that it could be going forward. It should be fixed now for 700 MHz [band] and it shouldn’t be allowed to happen again in the incentive auction spectrum, the 600 MHz spectrum."

CCA also filed a letter at the FCC this week flagging a recent product announcement by Qualcomm of the RF360 front end solution chip. “According to Qualcomm, this product offers ‘a comprehensive, system-level solution that addresses cellular radio frequency band fragmentation’ and can not only support all of the more than forty LTE band classes in existence today, but also allow seamless backward compatibility to 3G and 2G networks,” CCA said (http://bit.ly/YzWydf). “Proponents of interoperability have long maintained that manufacturers can restore interoperability to the Lower 700 MHz band without changing any device hardware other than replacing one duplex filter with another at a marginal cost approaching zero. Extensive record evidence from multiple sources supports the conclusion that interoperability is both feasible and cost-effective."

An AT&T spokeswoman said the company stands by its opposition to an interoperability mandate. “An interoperability mandate in the 700 MHz band that forces carriers to introduce interference into their deployments will result in less efficient spectrum utilization and a poor consumer experience,” the spokeswoman said in an email. “Indeed there has been little deployment to date by A Block licensees because of the interference caused by the adjacent Channel 51 television stations and the potential for high power broadcasts in the E Block by Dish. A mandate that simply ignores these challenges will impair current 700 MHz deployments and still leave the A Block impaired. AT&T continues to support real solutions that seek to address and resolve the interference scenarios and agrees completely that the Channel 51 issues can and should be addressed in the context of the incentive auction.”