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| 900 MHz Licensee
FAQs |
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I'm a 900 MHz Licensee. Will this Order effect me? |
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What are the 900 MHz rule changes contained in the Rebanding Order? |
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Is
the FCC Order final? |
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Did the FCC incorporate the 800 MHz interference protection standard at 900 MHz? |
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Is it true that Nextel is acquiring 900 MHz spectrum? |
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Will Nextel be interested in acquiring my authorization? |
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But, the FCC renewed my license. Don't I still have a valid authorization? |
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I'm ready to sell. How do I start? |
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I'm a licensee on a community repeater, along with a number of other licensees. Will Nextel still be interested in acquiring my license? |
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I've heard that there's a freeze on licensing at 900 MHz. What is that all about? |
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I need to expand or modify my 900 MHz Business or Industrial/Land Transportation radio system. How do I do that in the midst of a freeze? |
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| 1. I'm a 900 MHz Licensee. Will this Order effect me? |
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The FCC's 800 MHz Rebanding Order also provides
for certain changes at 900 MHz. First, although the original
Consensus Plan called for Nextel to give up its 900 MHz spectrum,
the FCC rejected this part of the Plan. As a result, Nextel
will be keeping its 900 MHz spectrum, and using it as additional
capacity, particularly during the 800 MHz rebanding process,
when Nextel's 800 MHz capacity will be particularly strained.
The FCC issued a separate Report
& Order in 2008 with regard to future licensing at 900
MHz
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| 2. What are the 900 MHz rule changes contained in the Rebanding Order? |
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| First, the FCC has consolidated the 900 MHz Business Radio Pool with the 900 MHz Industrial/Land Transportation Radio Pool. Going forward, this means that Business Radio Pool eligible entities will not have to file waiver requests, or use intercategory sharing, to access Industrial/Land Transportation Radio Pool frequencies. In addition, as of January 21, 2005, Business and Industrial/Land Transportation licensees are able to convert their internal-use only authorizations into commercial (i.e. SMR) authorizations. The FCC did not impose a "holding period" for licensees prior to their commercial conversion. Thus, any 900 Business or Industrial/Land Transportation licensee, regardless of how long they've held their authorization, may convert to commercial operation.
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| 3. Is the 800 MHz FCC Order final? |
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The 800 MHz Order became final on December 22,
2004, 30 days after it is published in the Federal Register.
Nextel accepted the Order on February 7, 2005 (and Nextel's
agreement with Sprint provides that the merged company will
accept all of the responsibilities of the Order).
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| 4. Did the FCC incorporate the 800 MHz interference protection standard at 900 MHz? |
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No. The FCC did not elect to impose
the 800 MHz interference protection standard at 900 MHz. However,
please review the FCC's 900
MHz Order regarding interference protection.
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| 5. Is it true that Nextel is acquiring 900 MHz spectrum? |
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Nextel has indeed contacted some 900 MHz SMR, Business and Industrial/Land Transportation licensees, with an eye towards acquiring the licensees' authorizations. Primarily, this is occuring in the major urban areas, where Nextel is most capacity constrained.
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| 6. Will Nextel be interested in acquiring my authorization?
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First and foremost, this will depend on what geographic area that you're located in. While you can be certain that Nextel would be interested in acquiring 900 MHz spectrum in Los Angeles, they most likely would not have an interest in an authorization in Montana (where Nextel has plenty of reserve capacity). In addition, remember that your system must have been timely constructed (i.e. within one year of authorization), and the system must remain in operation in order for the license to remain valid. SMR systems that have been off the air for 90 continuous days, and Business or Industrial/Land Transportation systems that have been off the air for more than a year, no longer have valid licenses, they are considered to have been cancelled automatically, regardless of whether you have informed the FCC of your non-operational status.
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| 7. The FCC renewed my license. Even though I'm not constructed, don't I still have a valid authorization? |
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If the system has been off the air longer than the rules permit, the license is considered to have been automatically cancelled, even if the FCC doesn't know about it. You cannot assign an invalid authorization.
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| 8. I'm ready to sell. How do I start? |
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Contact us individually by filling out the Contact Form, or call Alan Tilles directly at 301-231-0930, and we'll help you get started. We provide a full range of legal services for the transaction, including negotiating the sale price, negotiating the contract, completing the FCC paperwork and preparing the closing documents. Please be aware, however, that Nextel is not presently acquiring 900 MHz licenses in every market, only selected markets.
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| 9. I'm a licensee on a community repeater, along with a number of other licensees. Will Nextel still be interested in acquiring my license? |
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If your license has a station class of FB4, that means that you are a licensee on a community repeater. Typically, that means that you share the system with a number of other licensees. As a result, your license will be of little value to Nextel unless the other licensees on the system sell, too. Think of your license as one apartment in an apartment building. Someone owns that building, and has you and a number of others as tenants. Nextel would only be interested in acquiring the entire building (provided its in the right geographic market), and so they will deal with the building owner.
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| 10. I've heard that there's a freeze on licensing at 900 MHz. What is that all about? |
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While the FCC elected not to auction this spectrum,
they've decided to release the freeze consistent with the completion
of rebanding in a particular region. See the 900
MHz Report & Order.
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| 11. I need to expand or modify my 900 MHz Business or Industrial/Land Transportation radio system. How do I do that in the midst of a freeze? |
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The FCC will readily accept applications for modifications that do not expand the operational contour of the system (address changes, assignments, etc.). In addition, the FCC has stated that it would look favorably on requests to waive the freeze where an existing system is looking to expand. The bottom line is that the applications that are really subject to the freeze are applications for new authorizations. If you need assistance with preparing an application to request a waiver of the freeze, contact us and we'll be happy to help.
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