Howard Buskirk

Chmn. Powell has decided to pull the controversial air-to-ground (ATG) order from consideration at the Nov. agenda meeting, we learned. Sources said the problems proved too difficult to work through in the unusually short time between the Oct. and Nov. meetings. Powell first received an ATG proposal from the Wireless Bureau for a vote at the Oct. meeting, but decided not to circulate the item and sent it back for more work. This month he started to circulate an order on the 8th floor, but because questions remain the order won’t be on the sunshine agenda due to circulate Tues. Several key players including the Assn. of Public Safety Communications Officials and Nextel asked the FCC for a delay. “I think there was a certain inevitability to the item being pulled,” said one source who has been lobbying the FCC on the issue. “I said all along they'd be lucky to make the Nov. meeting.” A 2nd source said: “It’s really helpful to have the additional time for the Commission to fully vet and analyze the new AirCell-Boeing plan and understand and address the issues that need to be addressed.” The ATG order explores how to reengineer the process of making phone calls on commercial flights. The fight pits incumbent Verizon AirFone, which wants the FCC to auction a single license, against AirCell and Boeing. An item addressing the use of 4.9 GHz spectrum by public agencies is still expected to get a vote.

ANNAPOLIS -- FCC Office of Engineering & Technology Chief Edmond Thomas said the Commission’s proposed advanced wireless services (AWS) auction dramatically demonstrates the need to reform how the FCC reallocates spectrum between the govt. and private sectors. Thomas told the Dept. of Defense Spectrum Summit here Fri. the 90 MHz reallocation -- 45 MHz of which is coming from govt. spectrum, possibly through federal legislation (CD Oct 29 p1) -- has taken far too long.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- NTIA Dir. Michael Gallagher defended his agency’s work to promote the sharing of spectrum between the Dept. of Defense and business. He told DoD listeners Thurs. here their interests would be protected. Gallagher faced skeptical questions from an audience of DoD spectrum officials protective of their frequencies at the department’s 4th Annual Spectrum Management Summit.

ANNAPOLIS -- The Dept. of Defense stands fully behind spectrum relocation trust fund relocation legislation (HR 1320) that has stalled in the Senate after sailing through the House more than a year ago, a top DoD spectrum official said Thurs. Meanwhile, officials from the FCC, NTIA and the wireless industry expressed strong support during the 4th Annual DoD Spectrum Management Conference here for passing the legislation when the Senate returns for a lame duck session.

To the detriment of licensed users, the FCC isn’t focusing on unlicensed uses of spectrum, FCC officials assured carriers during a regulatory panel at the CTIA’s fall conference. Carrier officials on the panel had said the industry perceives an FCC preference for unlicensed uses. “There’s been a lot of attention at the FCC recently on unlicensed issues, Wi-Fi issues, we would say to the detriment of licensed uses,” said CTIA Vp Diane Cornell.

The FCC released an order early Tues. conditionally approving the merger of Cingular and AT&T Wireless. However, Comrs. Copps and Adelstein issued vigorous partial dissents, saying the order fails to address the effect on intermodal competition between wireline and wireless markets.

Intel and Clearwire announced Mon. at CTIA’s fall conference a partnership to develop a WiMax network, using the spectrum Clearwire has been quietly acquiring around the U.S. The announcement marks one of the potential highwater marks so far for WiMax, which some experts believe will quickly supplant the many Wi-Fi hotspots that have sprung up over the last few years.

AirCell warned the FCC in a letter sent to the 5 Commissioners that indications from the FCC are that the Commission staff is recommending a single 4 MHz license, which AirCell warned would effectively hand Verizon AirFone a continuing monopoly in commercial aviation communications. The item is scheduled for a vote at the Nov. meeting but could still fall off the agenda. An official with Verizon questioned the AirCell arguments, saying all his company has asked for is an auction, not to be the winning bidder.

CTIA weighed in on the pending FCC air-to-ground (ATG) order, advising caution to protect incumbents in adjacent bands as it reforms the rules for the 849- 851/894-896 MHz bands, and asking for FCC testing. The CTIA filing adds another significant voice asking the FCC to proceed cautiously on ATG. Meanwhile, Nextel highlighted its interference concerns with considerably more detail in a filing on the item.

AT&T Wireless and Cingular each had some negative numbers to report Wed. on the eve of the likely completion of their merger. The FCC and Justice Dept. have yet to finalize their merger orders, though by some accounts they may be only days away. As of Wed. afternoon, the FCC’s 2 Democrats, Comrs. Copps and Adelstein, still hadn’t voted electronically on the order.