The FCC will make improving wireless service quality a top priority in 2005, with a look at ways of eliminating “dead zones” and improving cellular quality underground and indoors, Wireless Bureau Chief John Muleta said Thurs. during a report to the Commission.
Howard Buskirk
Howard Buskirk, Executive Senior Editor, joined Warren Communications News in 2004, after covering Capitol Hill for Telecommunications Reports. He has covered Washington since 1993 and was formerly executive editor at Energy Business Watch, editor at Gas Daily and managing editor at Natural Gas Week. Previous to that, he was a staff reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Greenville News. Follow Buskirk on Twitter: @hbuskirk
Verizon Wireless and investor Mario Gabelli are among those signaling they plan to play a big role in PCS Auction 58, starting Jan. 26, based on information released by the FCC late Tues. Early indications, meanwhile, were that the FCC could see an active, competitive auction. As expected, 4 of the 5 national carriers will participate. Also, 2 formerly bankrupt carriers, Leap and MetroPCS, made major upfront bids. Altogether, 35 companies put in $325.3 million - less than 10% of what the auction is likely to fetch.
Wireless phone use is running ahead of the ability of researchers to evaluate the potential health effects, the U.K. National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB) warned in a new report. The paper cited other research, including a 10-year study from Sweden that found increased risk of acoustic neuromas among wireless users and a recent study that found 3G phones may affect brain function. In spite of those studies, NRPB noted that the number of mobile phone users in the U.K. has risen to 50 million, compared to 4.5 million 10 years ago. William Stewart, chmn. of the NRPB, called for further studies: “The fact is that the widespread use of mobile phones is a relatively recent phenomenon and it is possible that adverse health effects could emerge after years of prolonged use.” The NRPB also said standards should be developed for the testing of hands-free devices to determine the extent they protect users from radio frequency exposure.
Education groups and fixed wireless providers asked the FCC to make some key changes to a June 2004 order providing revised rules for ITFS and MDS operators in the 2495-2690 MHz band -- designed to promote wireless broadband by revising the 40-year-old rules that governed how the spectrum was used. An agreement by the Catholic TV Network (CTN), the National ITFS Assn. (NIA) and the Wireless Communications Assn. (WCA) precipitated the order. But the 3 groups all raised objections, filing petitions for reconsideration and arguing that the order deviated from their proposal in critical ways.
The wireless industry has a big job ahead making an effective transition from the voice world to taking advantage of data and new services, wireless industry officials said late Fri. in a panel at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
LAS VEGAS -- Verizon Wireless announced Fri. plans to launch the first U.S. 3G multimedia network starting next month at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, a service that it is branding as Vcast. CEO Dennis Strigl said Verizon likely can take the service national with spectrum it now controls, and with a few additions the company will have enough spectrum to meet its needs beyond 2010.
LAS VEGAS -- The digital age is starting to live up to expectations, with phones, TVs and other devices linking up with PCs in new ways, Microsoft founder Bill Gates told a standing room only audience Wed. night at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) here.
NTIA sent an aggressive signal Thurs. that the govt. will move quickly to take the steps needed for a planned June 2006 auction of advanced wireless service (AWS) spectrum. The agency sent federal agencies formal notification of their new obligations under the spectrum transition fund bill (HR-5419) signed into law by President Bush on Dec. 23. NTIA asked each affected agency to submit its cost estimates and schedule for relocation by Sept. 15.
LAS VEGAS -- An almost apologetic SBC CEO Edward Whitacre Thurs. said in a speech to the Consumer Electronics Show it has taken his company too long to make a major appearance at the show. The CEO said SBC was correcting that with a series of announcements leading up to the unveiling of the new U-verse brand for its video platform.
LAS VEGAS -- VoIP executives said Wed. they don’t tremble at the prospect of cable operators offering their own VoIP services. Speaking at the Pulver.com summit that opened the Consumer Electronics Show here, the officials said they view VoIP as offering advantages over wireless phones, which they said are unlikely to become the complete substitute for the public switched telephone network, given quality of service and other issues.