Enterprise Wireless Insider® Volume 5, Issue 5

Welcome New EWA Members

Capital Communications
Helena, MT
www.capphanes.com

Carolina Communications
Florence, SC
www.carolinacomm.com

Communication Specialists, Inc. – Premier Member
Fredericksburg, VA
http://comm-spec.radio-dealers.com

United Communications, Inc.
Beaumont, TX

What You're Saying About EWA

“Hi Nancy, I wanted to say thanks! I was able to file my statements of Customer Proprietary Network Information (CPNI) on the first try. Thanks to your advice. Feels good to have that crossed off my list! Thanks again.”

Carol Oktavec Deputy Electronics

“Cecilia, you make my day. Yes, I'm having a good day now.”

Jack Masser

Communication Engineer
Loudoun County Public Schools

“Thank you so much. You have been such a big help. I totally had no idea how to apply for licenses, but you have been so patient with me and I really appreciate it. “

Shirley Pojar

Alliance Wireless Technologies

EWA Shows Off In Las Vegas

EWA Shows Off in Las Vegas

EWA kicked off its Spring services campaign at both the Motorola Channel Partner Expo and IWCE 2011 events in Las Vegas the week of March 7-11. EWA President/CEO Mark Crosby presented during several educational sessions on Narrowbanding at the Expo, and also delivered the keynote “Existing Licensees and The Push to Broadband” at the Radio Club of America meeting March 10.

EWA Senior VP Eric Hill moderated the March 11 “Killer Apps” session at IWCE, featuring Lockard & White President Marc Lockard, Spacenet Product Management Director Alasdair Calder, Intelligent Product Solutions Business Development Director Donald Kraics, and Sentor CEO and Founder Bob Selby-Wood. The events and exhibitions provided excellent visibility and opportunities for EWA to showcase its latest spectrum strategies and solutions, frequency coordination and license management services, and Spring launch plans for the online Enterprise Wireless Solutions Center®.

I Can't Hear You

I Can’t Hear You

In a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture, Ace of Hearts Disc Jockey Service, Inc. (Ace of Hearts), Cape Canaveral, Florida, was fined $13,000 for operating excessive power and for utilizing an unauthorized transmitting antenna system. During the Commission’s inspection in February 2010, the President of Ace of Hearts claimed he was unaware they were operating over power and stated that the problem may be due to the amplifier. He promptly reduced the transmitter output power. In a subsequent inspection, again prompted by complaints that the station was operating beyond its authorized transmitter output power, it was determined that the station was operating with a second antenna although it was authorized to transmit with only one. Due to these violations, Ace of Hearts was fined $13,000.
DA 11-443

It Is Not My Home

Ira Jones, owner and operator of a Citizen Band (CB) radio station, was reported to the FCC on three occasions over a period of six months for causing interference to the communications system operated by the Merced County Fire Department, Merced, California. In March and August 2010, FCC agents visited Jones’ home, requesting inspection of his transmitting equipment. Although he acknowledged owning the equipment, Jones denied causing interference and did not allow the FCC to inspect his facilities. Jones first demanded a warrant and claimed that he did not own the house. Jones later recanted the home ownership issue, but still did not allow the inspection even after being warned of a possible forfeiture. The Notice of Unlicensed Operations given to Jones states that the “Commission has no requirement that an agent obtain a warrant prior to conducting such an inspection.” As a result of this violation, Jones was fined $7,000.
DA 11-457

Lights Out

In a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture, KFW Communications (KFW), Caldwell, Kansas was cited for failing to visually inspect their tower’s lights at least once every 24 hours between October 2009 and March 2010. The Commission’s rules require that any licensed antenna structure with lighting must be observed at least once every 24 hours either visually or with automatic system equipped with an alarm to alert the owner of any malfunction. The FCC learned in their investigations that a KFW employee had visually inspected the antenna structure until their closed-circuit cable system was shut down on September 30, 2009. KFW was fined $6,000 due to the six months of non-compliance after being warned of this violation in the initial Letter of Inquiry. DA 11-394

Failure to File CPNI Means $29,000 Fine

In a Notice of Apparent Liability (NAL) for Forfeiture and Order adopted on February 25, 2011, several companies were each fined a forfeiture amount of $29,000 for not submitting their annual customer proprietary network information (CPNI) notice for 2008 and 2009.

In February 2010, each company was sent a letter by the Commission reminding them to submit their CPNI filing for 2008 and 2009 and warned that “failure to comply with this directive may result in monetary penalties”. Noncompliance led to the $29,000 fine and a warning that further enforcement action may be taken if they fail to file such certifications within 30 days of the NAL date.
DA 11-371A

NTIA Offers Potential Broadband Spectrum

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has advised that the bands 1695-1710 MHz and 3550-3650 MHz are available for accommodating wireless broadband as downlinks for weather satellites, radiolocation, aeronautical radio-navigation and fixed-satellite service. In a Public Notice dated March 8, 2011, an FCC Spectrum Task Force asked for comment on the steps the FCC can take to best promote this spectrum for wireless broadband. Significant geographic portions of these federal bands are currently off limits due to incumbent systems.  
FCC PN DA 11-444

Expectations Established for LightSquared Working Group

Both the FCC’s International Bureau and Office of Engineering and Technology have had to officially announce that LightSquared’s GPS Interference Working Group will not be operating under a Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) directive as the agency did not select the membership of the working group, and will not control, supervise or manage it. The LightSquared working group was a critical condition of the waiver LightSquared received on January 26, 2011.

This confirmation that the working group is not an official federal advisory committee became necessary due to a petition filed by the U.S. GPS Industry Council that sought such clarification. The working group was initially created due to GPS interference concerns raised by commenters and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. How effective the working group will be is anyone’s guess at this point. As one interested observer commented to EWA, “Isn't it just amazing to think that our tax dollars were used originally to build GPS, entire industries now rely on it, and now tax dollars are funding one government agency that is promoting wireless broadband at the (very high) expense of GPS interference, while other government agencies are spending more of our tax dollars to fight the madness?”
DA 11-367     DA 11-133

Petition Dismissed Against Transition Administrator

The FCC has dismissed a petition filed by several heavy hitters involved in the 800 MHz rebanding initiative, specifically, the New Jersey Transit Corporation, the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Montgomery County, Maryland, and RCC Consultants, Inc. Essentially, the jointly filed petition was found to lack standing because it failed to demonstrate the potential for adverse consequences from an earlier FCC decision and the petition was not filed in a timely manner. 
DA 11-337A1

An Opportunity to Revisit a Few Rules

On March 3, the FCC issued its annually mandated Regulatory Flexibility Act plan for reviewing long-standing rules that “have, or might have, a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.” Targeted rules that are being evaluated to determine whether they should be retained that have garnered EWA’s special attention include certain elements of the CPNI regulations, rules associated with frequency coordination procedures, and provisions concerned with required centralized trunking analyses. Comments will be due 60 days after publication of this item in the Federal Register. 

DA 11-412

PG & E Waiver Request Granted

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (PG&E) received a waiver to permit the implementation of a wide area Private Land Mobile Radio (PLMR) system in California using Part 22 and Part 90 spectrum. The Commission agreed that additional time is justified for PG&E to upgrade its PLMR system in order to increase efficiency, improve coverage and to allow for interoperability. EWA was the only industry organization to formally support PG&E’s waiver request. 

FCC Order DA 11-438   EWA Comments

Promoting Dynamic Spectrum Use Technologies

And just in case our readers think that the LightSquared matter above is one of a kind, the Land Mobile Communications Council (of which EWA is an active member), recently filed comments in response to the FCC’s Notice of Inquiry entitled “Promoting More Efficient Use of Spectrum through Dynamic Spectrum Use Technologies.” Among other points, the LMCC stated that the FCC must assess how Dynamic Spectrum Use technologies can be introduced into an already heavily congested spectrum environment in which very significant investments have been made in communications equipment and applications being used to promote the public’s interest in the effective operation of public safety, critical infrastructure and other business activities. Further, the LMCC noted that the introduction of dynamic radio use into populated bands must be conditioned on the adoption of meaningful interference protection standards and appropriate mechanisms for enforcing them in real-time, not through a lengthy regulatory enforcement process, and balanced against the public interest in the continued interference-free operation of communications systems that support essential public safety, utility, transportation, manufacturing and other business enterprise activities. The Commission’s notice did not directly seek comment on how best to accommodate incumbent operations in the event sharing with dynamic technologies was to occur. MORE:  LMCC Comments

Harbinger of Telecom Policy to Come?

Earlier this week, EWA filed comments in support of several Petitions for Reconsideration and Applications for Review that were filed by concerned licensees regarding the potential for devastating interference that may result from terrestrial facilities deployed by LightSquared Subsidiary LLC. As we have reported in Insider, the FCC recently granted LightSquared’s waiver request to modify its satellite license to add an Ancillary Terrestrial Component. While not taking a position on the legal or procedural objections raised by the numerous petitioners, EWA did note that it “found remarkable the speed with which a waiver of this magnitude that affects so many entities was processed by the FCC.” Recognizing that the FCC conditioned LightSquared’s grant on its establishment of a “GPS Interference Working Group” to anticipate and resolve potential interference issues, EWA expressed its “hope that this effort will identify a means by which GPS operations can be fully protected from interference. However, absent clear and convincing evidence that co-existence is possible, the … Commission must conclude that the critical GPS operations identified by the petitioners (which included the aeronautical industry and the Department of Defense through NTIA) cannot be compromised by LightSquared’s proposed terrestrial service offerings.” What we also find somewhat remarkable is the lack of interest by the FCC to attend and observe at the minimum the deliberations of the working group. (See related article below.)  MORE: EWA Filing