700Mhz

Move Towards Commercial 700 MHz Interoperability

Posted by Sam Churchill on June 9th, 2011

Vulcan Wireless, a 700 MHz licensee that is owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, is advocating for interoperability among the various 700 MHz spectrum band classes, reports Fierce Wireless.

Vulcan owns 700 MHz spectrum licenses in the lower A Block in Oregon and Washington. They are trying to use AT&T’s proposed $1.93 billion acquisition of Qualcomm’s (one-way) MediaFLO spectrum, which sits in the lower D and E Blocks of the 700 MHz band, as a vehicle to push for the changes to interoperability rules, says Fierce.

In a March 28 filing with the FCC, Vulcan argues that to ensure interoperability and prevent interference with the lower A-Block licensees, the FCC should prevent AT&T from pairing its 700 MHz B and C Block licenses with any newly acquired D and E Block licenses.

Another group, the 700 MHz Block A Good Faith Purchasers Alliance, a joint venture among Cellular South, Cavalier Wireless, Continuum 700 and U.S. Cellular, wants interoperability rules in place before any more 700 MHz equipment can be authorized by the FCC.

According to Fierce Wireless, the group alleges that the two biggest winners of 700 MHz airwaves–Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility–are actively working to block out smaller competitors by issuing requests for LTE equipment that can only work on the 700 MHz band classes they acquired at auction, and not the band classes held by smaller wireless players.

“The decision to identify band class 17 separately from band class 12 was based entirely on a desire to avoid harmful interference that would negatively affect the operation of 700 MHz mobile broadband devices, not on any anticompetitive or discriminatory agenda,” Motorola wrote to the FCC in response to the alliance’s filings.

Band class 17 was designed to handle possible interference from TV channel 51, mobile devices, and neighboring D block transmitters. Verizon Wireless paid a premium for 22 Mhz (11MHz x 2) for unencumbered, nationwide Band class 13 licenses in the 700 Mhz band. AT&T is having to piece their nationwide 700 MHz network together using regional and local 700 MHz licenses.