The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports.

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Nextel accepts FCC 800 MHz rebanding plan
Nextel Communications Inc. has accepted the Federal Communications Commission’s 800 MHz rebanding plan, bringing to a close three years of discussions to sort out interference issues. Under terms of the plan, Nextel will have three years to move public safety and other users to the 800 MHz band in exchange for 10 MHz of 1.9 GHz spectrum. The wireless operator is responsible for paying to move the users, and as such the FCC required Nextel to get a US$2.5 billion letter of credit. The transition will be done regionally with New York, Washington D.C. and San Francisco being first. FCC Chair Michael Powell said reaching an agreement was the easy part and that the hard part remains to be completed.

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Spotwave Wireless has appointed Paul Tinney as VP of worldwide sales and marketing, responsible for all sales and marketing activities. Tinney, who has a proven track record in sales, marketing and management in the global wireless industry, joins from SS8 Networks where he held the position of VP and GM of the company’s security solutions group.

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Bell Mobility adds more than 500,000 subs in 2004
Canada’s second largest wireless operator Bell Mobility added 513,000 new net additions in 2004, matching subscriber growth in 2003. In the fourth quarter, the company recorded 217,000 net additions. Q4 additions exceeded levels in the previous year’s fourth quarter by 15%. Revenue for fiscal 2004 was $2.8 billion, a 14.5% increase over the previous year’s revenue figures. The company says this was driven in large part by subscriber additions. Churn for BCE Inc.’s wireless business was 1.3%, a tenth of a percent drop compared to churn rates in 2003. Fourth quarter churn was 1.4%, the equivalent of last year’s Q4 level.

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