NCTA and EEI Oppose FirstNet Control of 4.9 GHz Band
NCTA weighed in at the FCC against giving FirstNet and AT&T control of the 4.9 GHz band. As the FCC and others recognize, “spectrum resources are finite, and 'greenfield' opportunities have been exhausted,” a filing posted Wednesday in docket 07-100…
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said. “AT&T already holds vast swaths of licensed spectrum,” NCTA said: “Under these circumstances, AT&T -- like any other commercial provider -- should be required to compete in an open and competitive assignment process rather than being designated a band manager with residual rights to utilize the 4.9 GHz band for commercial purposes.” The Edison Electric Institute also opposed FirstNet control of the band. Allowing commercial communications service providers to use the 4.9 GHz band "will diminish its reliability, which would in turn discourage further investment by public safety and utilities, effectively displacing incumbents from the band,” EEI said.