WCS Licensees Have Ignored Performance Requirements, Says Sirius

Wireless communications band licensees have long hoarded their spectrum without any serious effort toward deploying services and waited for regulatory relief to make service in the band possible, Sirius XM told the FCC in comments on potential buildout requirements for users of the band. The licensees have no reason to justify the inaction and have simply disregarded the buildout obligations when the spectrum was acquired in 1997 for $13.6 million, it said. “Simply put, WCS licensees have been egregious spectrum warehousers whose actions and words demonstrate a disregard for their buildout obligations, not to mention for the Commissions’ processes,” the company said in comments.

The agency should encourage the deployment of WCS, rather than enable “spectrum warehousing,” but should do so in consideration of possible interference with nearby satellite radio spectrum, the company said. The proposed buildout requirements are separate from the agency’s proceeding on possibly loosening interference rules in the WCS band.

A further rulemaking is needed to reflect possible new rules in the band, said the WCS Coalition in its filing. New build out requirements that don’t reflect new technical and service rules will slow investment and innovation in the band, said the WCS Coalition. The FCC “must temper its desire to see rapid widespread deployment with an appreciation that overly aggressive performance requirements unsupportable by reasonable business plans” will impede development of the service, the group said.

Buildout requirements should provide at least four years before the interim benchmark is measured and FCC response to a failure to meet a benchmark should take the “keep what you use” methodology that’s imposed on 700 MHz licensees, said the coalition. The commission has proposed terminating licenses “if the Commission determines that a licensee has not met the applicable performance benchmarks for a license area.” The group also asked for a further extension to a July 21 buildout deadline as the agency considers new rules for the WCS band.

Stratos Offshore Services Company, a WCS license holder and subsidiary of Stratos Government Services, asks that the FCC consider its situation as the agency makes rules on the buildout requirements. The company has implemented its business plan, providing communications services in the Gulf of Mexico for the oil and gas industry, and the Wireless Bureau should continue to use its policy of reducing requirements for service areas of less than a million, said Stratos.

The FCC’s proposed duty cycle limits could further delay the use the WCS band, said the Telecommunications Industry Association in comments on the possible buildout requirements and interference rule changes. While the commission should make sure to protect satellite radio and aeronautical mobile telemetry, which uses nearby spectrum for flight test operations, the proposed duty cycle limits could “severely” lower WCS service user experience, the association said.