HERNDON, V.A. and WOODLAND PARK, N.J., January 29, 2015 – The Enterprise Wireless Alliance (EWA) and Pacific DataVision, Inc. (PDV) replied to comments of private radio users, critical infrastructure licensees, associations, and vendors filed earlier in the month at the Federal Communications Commission in response to EWA and PDV’s Petition for Rulemaking regarding realignment of 900 MHz spectrum. The reply comments complete the initial phase of a proceeding started by the FCC’s November 26, 2014 Public Notice seeking comment about the petition to realign the 900 MHz band. The proposal would improve spectrum efficiency in that band while offering Critical Infrastructure entities priority access to next-‐generation broadband technology.
Mark Crosby, President and CEO of the Enterprise Wireless Alliance, stated, “We looked closely at the comments filed by incumbents at 900 MHz who would be affected and believe the relevant factors that must be weighed by the FCC now are on the record. EWA’s obligation as a proponent of realignment, as a national membership organization, and as an FCC-‐certified frequency advisory committee, is to provide sound spectrum engineering to ensure that broadband and narrowband system technologies may co-‐exist side-‐by-‐side without system degradation. We have said all along that we would be pleased to work closely with the American Petroleum Institute and the Utilities Telecom Council to ensure that this fundamental responsibility of all three organizations is achieved. ” Mr. Crosby added, “We are also confident that state-‐of-‐the-‐art engineering, alongside rules fashioned by the FCC to protect incumbents and require comparable facilities, will serve to address the concerns of 900 MHz narrowband licensees. The FCC has not fashioned spectrum repurposing rules that were detrimental to incumbent operations, and I am confident it will not do so in this instance.”
Morgan O’Brien, Vice Chairman of PDV, said, “Responding to questions raised about whether sufficient spectrum is available to accommodate incumbents’ existing narrowband systems, PDV has included details about the channels it purchased from Sprint to address these concerns. While more system-‐specific information is necessary to develop market-‐by-‐market frequency plans, the task is straightforward and manageable, particularly compared to previous realignments of other bands.”
Mr. O’Brien continued, “In this proceeding, there is virtual unanimity that Critical Infrastructure needs spectrum dedicated to its important requirements and, in particular, broadband with priority access. While migrating to more advanced technology, by definition, is disruptive of the status quo, the essential services provided by Critical Infrastructure entities demand that they have an opportunity to access broadband on a priority basis. With careful analysis and prudent rulemaking based on the record, the incumbents in this band can be safeguarded while enabling the Commission to meet its goals of promoting innovation, investment and spectrum efficiency.”
EWA and PDV’s joint reply comments can be found on both the EWA website at www.enterprisewireless.org and the PDV website at www.pdvcorp.com.
