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Dec. 14, 2008

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin now faces even more congressional pressure to pare down the Dec. 18 meeting agenda, a development that could jeopardize a scheduled vote on a free wireless broadband plan. The vote is to decide on the controversial AWS-3 spectrum auction slated for Dec. 18.

Senator Jay Rockefeller and Rep. Henry Waxman who are in line to chair the Senate and House Commerce committees next year urged Martin in a letter to concentrate on the upcoming digital TV transition.

The letter comes only 48 hours after the Bush administration registered its opposition to Martin’s advanced wireless services-3 (AWS-3) initiative.

They also asked Martin to steer clear of other contentious matters. Kevin Martin has been in the press a lot lately, facing charges of deception and distrust. The FCC Chairman was accused of retaliating against FCC employees who disagreed with his policies and cites 22 exhibits of evidence, among others.

Rockefeller and Waxman wrote “at a time when serious questions are being raised about transition readiness, it would be counterproductive for the FCC to consider unrelated items, especially complex and controversial items that the new Congress and the new administration will have an interest in reviewing."

The letter goes on to say "we strongly urge you to concentrate the commission’s attention and resources only on matters that require action now and under the law, and that efforts to smooth out the transition to digital television.” The DTV changeover is scheduled to occur on Feb. 17, 2009.

However, the lawmakers’ letter can be read a couple of different ways. On one hand, the AWS-3 spectrum auction is totally unrelated to the DTV transition and is highly controversial.

On the other hand, M2Z Networks, the Silicon Valley-funded startup that’s gunning for a national AWS-3 license, contends the FCC is required by law to have voted by now on the wireless broadband rulemaking.

Many disagree, among them is Martin. “We just received the letter from Senator Rockefeller and Congressman Waxman. We are reviewing it in full and we will reach out to the other offices,” said Matthew Nodine, an FCC spokesman.

T-Mobile USA also argues wireless Internet service in the AWS-3 band (2155-2180 MHz) will cause harmful interference to mobile-phone operations in the AWS-1 (2110-2155 MHz) spectrum it paid billions of dollars for at a previous auction more than two years ago.

FCC engineers have since concluded that AWS-3 wireless broadband transmissions will not degrade wireless and mobile service in adjacent frequencies.

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Source: BRN News.