A fresh House bill to reallocate the 700 MHz D-block to public safety has the support of House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Peter King, R-N.Y. Rep. Steve Rothman, D-N.J., who serves on the Appropriations Committees, on Tuesday introduced the Help Emergency Responders Operate Emergency Systems (HEROES) Act. Using proceeds from spectrum auctions, the bill would provide $5.5 billion for construction, maintenance and operation of the national public safety network and $400 million to set up a grant program to help first responders upgrade their radios to comply with the FCC’s 2004 narrowband mandate.

Analog broadcast TV in the U.S. will be a thing of the past in late 2015 if the FCC succeeds in setting a low-power station digital deadline akin to the full-power DTV switch two years ago, commission officials said. They said a draft order would require all remaining low-power stations that haven’t already made the digital switch to do so by September 2015. That’s three years later than the commission last proposed (CD Sept 21 p2).

Sprint Nextel added Motorola to its roster of Google Android 4G smartphone suppliers, introducing the Photon as it continues to build its base of WiMAX-compatible products. Sprint’s lineup of 4G products now totals nearly 25 models including a half-dozen Android-based smartphones as well as modems and other devices. Also on the horizon is HTC’s 4G-based View tablet that is scheduled to launch June 24, featuring a seven-inch LCD with 1,024x600 resolution and a “Scribe” technology that allows user to take notes in their own handwriting with a stylus pen. Sprint also carries Samsung and LG Electronics 4G smartphones.

Deutsche Telekom last week launched a 20 x 20 LTE network in Cologne, Germany, showing growing interest in “fat channels” and this higher speed version of LTE, BTIG analyst Walter Piecyk said Tuesday in a research note. “Is 20x20 the future?” Piecyk asks. “The fatter channels, not surprisingly, deliver much faster download speeds than a 10x10 or 5x5 version of LTE. And by faster speeds, we mean 30 Mbps, which many people do not achieve with their wire-based broadband connections. Clearly, not all LTE is created equal.” DT uses the 1.8-GHz band for the service in Cologne, but is expected to use the 2.6-GHz band as it rolls out service in other German cities and fills the 1.8 GHz spectrum, he said. DT will offer 10 X 10 LTE in the 800 MHz band outside urban areas. Piecyk asks if U.S. carriers will follow. AT&T, for example, could use its 1.9 GHz holdings, he wrote. “In addition, AT&T’s 10 MHz of AWS (2.1 GHz) spectrum will become more useful when combined with the 25 MHz of AWS spectrum that T-Mobile controls,” if the merger is allowed to move forward. Clearwire is the only U.S. operator with a “meaningful spectrum position” in the 2.5/2.6 GHz band, where it controls some 150 MHz of spectrum, he noted. “We believe it would cost Clearwire $600 million to convert its existing WiMax markets to a 20x20 LTE system,” Piecyk said. “We believe Clearwire could start to launch most markets with LTE within six months and could convert all of the pops within a year."

Public safety spending on 700 MHz D-block lobbying more than quadrupled in Q1 2011 compared to the same quarter last year, according to Q1 lobbying reports. The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials spent $80,563, 303 percent more than what the group spent in Q1 2010 and 66 percent more than Q4 2010. Meanwhile, the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association spent nearly five times what it did last year, and NTCA CEO Shirley Bloomfield said she expects the association of small rural telcos to continue spending at that level.

Legislation to authorize voluntary incentive auctions could include provisions to spur investment by broadcasters, Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., said Tuesday at a House Communications Subcommittee spectrum hearing. Most members appeared to support incentive auctions. But Walden and others said they are still considering how best to use the 700 MHz D-block to build a national public safety network.

Support for a bipartisan bill to reallocate the 700 MHz D-block to public safety (CD Feb 11 p3) appeared strong at a House Homeland Security Committee hearing Wednesday. Public safety officials testified in support of the assignment for the full 20 MHz of public-safety broadband to a single licensee, in an effort to get legislation passed and a network put in place by the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

Peter Cramton, an expert on spectrum auctions, said Friday he is “optimistic” about the outlook for a voluntary incentive auction. The key to attracting wireless industry interest, he said, is forcing broadcasters to repack their spectrum to make it valuable in multiple markets, he said at a Media Access Project conference.

Experts supported freeing up additional frequencies for mobile broadband and other new services, and adding flexibility in allocations for innovative technology for frequency sharing, at a hearing of the European Parliament Committee on Industry, Research and Energy about a five-year EU policy on radio frequencies. The European Commission proposed a radio spectrum policy program in September, and the Parliament and Council must vote on it. The program would require member countries to reallocate the 800 MHz band from broadcasters to mobile broadband services. “Addressing and supporting the exceptional growth in mobile data traffic is pivotal to securing the EU’s competitiveness and global leadership in the digital economy,” said Gunnar Höökmark, vice-chairman of the parliamentary European People’s Party Group, who is responsible for the European Parliament’s report on the radio spectrum program. The EU has committed to giving all citizens at least 30 Mbps access and 50 percent of them 100 Mbps by 2020. Höökmark also supported considering additional frequencies for the new services. Simon Forge, consultant at SCF Associates, recommended considering the 600 MHz band for Wi-Fi service, possibly on a shared basis, he said. Christopher Gow, head of spectrum policy at Cisco, said frequencies in the 5 GHz range might be easier to allocate.

The Swiss Federal Communications Commission will auction frequencies for mobile from the digital dividend, 900, 1800, 2100 and 2600 MHz bands, an Ofcom press release said. The auction of digital dividend frequencies is one of Europe’s first, it said. The lower bands are for GSM, UMTS and 3GPP’s Long Term Evolution, it said. Existing GSM and UMTS licenses will expire as early as December 2013, it said. More than 600 MHz will be awarded, an official said. The frequencies will be awarded for 15 years next summer, it said. No special measures were taken to promote a new operator in the market, the press release said. A DotEcon, Ltd. electronic auction system will be used, it said. Ofcom in 2009 ran a consultation on the frequencies allocated to In&Phone, Orange, Sunrise and Swisscom.