Sunday, February 01, 2004
It's not about the money, Mr. Powell
Project Consensus
My wonderful, beautiful girlfriend Heather (I'll find a better picture of the both of us in the next few days) of just nearly two years pointed out to me an issue that she heard on "America's Most Wanted" the other night.
The issue is that currently Nextel's "Walky Talky" feature uses the 800mHz band, which happens to be the same range that public safety radios use. So, in certain situations in which a wireless tower is between emergency responders and their base, radio transmissions are blocked. According to AMW this has lead to an handful of deaths of in crisis responses.
A public safety lobby is supporting the Consensus plan (so titled because it represents a consensus of agreement between all branches of public safety) and pushing it to the FCC along with Nextel; the plan would give Nextel a higher, different part of the electromagnetic spectrum in exchange for a payment to upgrade public safety equipment and pay for the newer, more valuable bandwidth.
The plan has met criticism, however, as Reuters reports, because other wireless companies contend that the bandwidth being offered to replace the 800mHz range is much more valuable than the Consensus plan would force Nextel to pay:
"Both sides argue over how much the new spectrum Nextel would get is worth. Nextel contends it is worth about $1.1 billion, but rival Verizon Wireless, a joint venture of Verizon Communications (nyse: VZ - news - people) and Vodafone Group Plc , has submitted a study suggesting it is worth $6.5 billion.
"Nextel's interference issues need to be resolved quickly but not with a $6 billion giveaway to a private company," said Verizon Wireless spokesman Jeffrey Nelson.""
So, the issue seems to come down to money and time, which is what most issues are at their base. There is a simple solution to this problem. The FCC, since the electromagnetic spectrum is a public good and only leased out to private companies on, at least hypothetically, an agreement that they use them for the public good, could tell Nextel to pay its 1.1 Billion dollars now and move to the higher frequency; and, while this begins it can continue to research how much more the new bandwidth is worth. This way the delay is ended and public safety personnel are not at any more risk than they have to be.
One may say that Nextel could complain and threaten not to pay any more if the FCC finds that they should; but, since the electro. spec. is a public good, they could simply threaten to seize both parts from Nextel, and shut them out completely. Nextel has no authority in this matter, it is a government decision. So, the government should act now for the safety of our public safety personnel and appreciative public they serve.
If the FCC does not do this, I encourage Bush to intervene personally in the matter and encourage the FCC commission, which is chaired by Mr. Powell (Colin Powell's son Michael), a group of Presidential appointees, to act now.
UPDATE:
I thought I should make a further point about this. I was thinking that some libertarians or conservatives out there might disagree and say that Nextel has certain rights in this matter. I agree, they do have the right to practice their business in an open, fair market. But, when they are given permission to use public bandwidth for private gain, they must acquiesce to the governments demands, especially when the demands are to protect lives. I am not arguing that we milk Nextel for all they're worth, but instead that we offer them a choice in this matter, a choice to either move out or take what the government offers, but at the same time to act now so that more lives are not put at risk. I have confidence that if Nextel agreed to act now and pay more later if required, that the FCC would come conclude that they should pay a fair price. The FCC generally allows companies to keep bandwidth that is worth billions of dollars that was given out for much less than it was worth years go, so the FCC probably won't overcharge a company now, especially under the current board, which is attempting to allow virtually entire media markets to be owned by one company. But don't get me started on that...
My wonderful, beautiful girlfriend Heather (I'll find a better picture of the both of us in the next few days) of just nearly two years pointed out to me an issue that she heard on "America's Most Wanted" the other night.
The issue is that currently Nextel's "Walky Talky" feature uses the 800mHz band, which happens to be the same range that public safety radios use. So, in certain situations in which a wireless tower is between emergency responders and their base, radio transmissions are blocked. According to AMW this has lead to an handful of deaths of in crisis responses.
A public safety lobby is supporting the Consensus plan (so titled because it represents a consensus of agreement between all branches of public safety) and pushing it to the FCC along with Nextel; the plan would give Nextel a higher, different part of the electromagnetic spectrum in exchange for a payment to upgrade public safety equipment and pay for the newer, more valuable bandwidth.
The plan has met criticism, however, as Reuters reports, because other wireless companies contend that the bandwidth being offered to replace the 800mHz range is much more valuable than the Consensus plan would force Nextel to pay:
"Both sides argue over how much the new spectrum Nextel would get is worth. Nextel contends it is worth about $1.1 billion, but rival Verizon Wireless, a joint venture of Verizon Communications (nyse: VZ - news - people) and Vodafone Group Plc , has submitted a study suggesting it is worth $6.5 billion.
"Nextel's interference issues need to be resolved quickly but not with a $6 billion giveaway to a private company," said Verizon Wireless spokesman Jeffrey Nelson.""
So, the issue seems to come down to money and time, which is what most issues are at their base. There is a simple solution to this problem. The FCC, since the electromagnetic spectrum is a public good and only leased out to private companies on, at least hypothetically, an agreement that they use them for the public good, could tell Nextel to pay its 1.1 Billion dollars now and move to the higher frequency; and, while this begins it can continue to research how much more the new bandwidth is worth. This way the delay is ended and public safety personnel are not at any more risk than they have to be.
One may say that Nextel could complain and threaten not to pay any more if the FCC finds that they should; but, since the electro. spec. is a public good, they could simply threaten to seize both parts from Nextel, and shut them out completely. Nextel has no authority in this matter, it is a government decision. So, the government should act now for the safety of our public safety personnel and appreciative public they serve.
If the FCC does not do this, I encourage Bush to intervene personally in the matter and encourage the FCC commission, which is chaired by Mr. Powell (Colin Powell's son Michael), a group of Presidential appointees, to act now.
UPDATE:
I thought I should make a further point about this. I was thinking that some libertarians or conservatives out there might disagree and say that Nextel has certain rights in this matter. I agree, they do have the right to practice their business in an open, fair market. But, when they are given permission to use public bandwidth for private gain, they must acquiesce to the governments demands, especially when the demands are to protect lives. I am not arguing that we milk Nextel for all they're worth, but instead that we offer them a choice in this matter, a choice to either move out or take what the government offers, but at the same time to act now so that more lives are not put at risk. I have confidence that if Nextel agreed to act now and pay more later if required, that the FCC would come conclude that they should pay a fair price. The FCC generally allows companies to keep bandwidth that is worth billions of dollars that was given out for much less than it was worth years go, so the FCC probably won't overcharge a company now, especially under the current board, which is attempting to allow virtually entire media markets to be owned by one company. But don't get me started on that...
Comments:
Post a Comment
