Canadian government still waiting for U.S. decision–FCC commissioner’s remarks on 3G spectrum allocation encouraging: Binder

The top official in Canada’s department responsible for spectrum allocation says he’s heartened by recent remarks made by a Federal Communications Commission commissioner on the issue of what spectrum the United States will use for third generation (3G) wireless services. But Michael Binder, Industry Canada’s assistant deputy minister, Spectrum Information Technologies and Telecommunications, stresses that nothing is final until the Americans publish their decision. During a session May 25 at the Wireless Communications Association International’s annual convention in Boston, FCC Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy pleasantly surprised delegates and organizers by admitting she would be "extremely reluctant" to displace broadband wireless access companies operating in the 2500 MHz band to make room for future 3G services (see story this issue). While the FCC’s final decision could take until the end of the year, it marked the first time a FCC commissioner has publicly declared a preference on the issue. "I’m very encouraged," Binder told Report on Wireless following his own presentation to WCA delegates on May 26. "(Ms. Abernathy) is an experienced person, she has been around the business a long time, so she probably wouldn’t have said this on record unless she had some good reason to believe that’s the way the United States is going to go." Hemispheric support for 1.7 GHz In her remarks on June 25, Abernathy did not indicate what band she thought should be allocated for 3G in the United States. Binder noted there’s strong support in the Americas for 1.7 GHz, a band currently used by the U.S. military. "At CITEL (in Ottawa at the beginning of June), we got the whole assembly to make a recommendation to go with the 1700 MHz band, so if the Americans don’t follow up on this, it’s a big mistake because they’ll screw up the organization," he explained. CITEL is the primary organization in which all countries in the Americas get together and form a common front heading into World Radiocommunication Conferences (RoW, April 30/01). The next one takes place in 2003. "I feel the United States cannot ignore the fact that all the Americas, including Canada, Brazil, Argentina and Mexico, are going to go with 1.7 GHz. The United States would like to sell equipment to all of those countries, and they sure wouldn’t want to be at a disadvantage. And they want to be part of a North America-South America bloc, like the European arrangement. So it would be a mistake for them to not pick this band. "But I’ve seen things like that happen," Binder added.A U.S. decision to put 3G at 1.7 GHz would be good news for a number of Canadian operators in the 2500 MHz band—including Inukshuk Internet Inc, SaskTel, and the Manitoba Education Research & Learning Information Networks (MERLIN). While the allocation of radio frequencies for third generation in Canada won’t automatically take place following the FCC’s decision, similar spectrum allocations would be preferred by the Canadian wireless industry. "This is the downside of living next to such an enormous market," Binder admitted. "The upside is, once the United States has made a decision we can leapfrog them, because we can award licences faster than they can."

Canadian government still waiting for U.S. decision–FCC commissioner’s remarks on 3G spectrum allocation encouraging: Binder

News | July 9, 2001

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