Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Wasteful Swap Won't Help Safety

From: Marcelrf <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 04 Mar 2004 00:31:16 -0500

Wasteful Swap Won't Help Safety
By: Chris Meehan
February 26, 2004

Despite the record budget deficit, the government appears to still be in
the business of considering costly corporate handouts. Communications
giant Nextel is requesting an exchange of spectrum with the federal
government, due to interference with public safety communications caused
by Nextel's occupation of certain spectrum (waves that carry television
and radio signals) used for cellular technology. As a solution, Uncle
Sam is considering giving away to Nextel an alternate band of spectrum
worth as much as $7 billion.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is currently considering
Nextel's "Consensus Plan" that would have Nextel vacate fragmented
spectrum in the 700, 800, and 900 MHz bands. The cellular carrier claims
this will be a step closer to solving interference problems with public
safety radio systems operating in the 800 MHz band--problems that Nextel
originally created when it failed to comply with FCC waivers. The
spectrum Nextel is willing to part with could fetch up to $1.2 billion
at a government auction.

In return, the FCC would give Nextel 10 MHz of uninterrupted, nationwide
prime spectrum in the coveted 1.9 GHz band, and clear blocks of spectrum
in the upper 800 MHz frequency. Depending on U.S. markets, at auction,
this spectrum could be worth an estimated $7 billion to the government.
That's
$5.8 billion for the U.S. Treasury to make up at the expense of American
taxpayers.

In addition to this loss, the spectrum swap fails to solve public safety
interference problems. As part of the consensus plan, Nextel claims that
it will pay $700 million to relocate public safety towers to sites where
interference will be less likely. While this number looks good on paper,
Nextel admits it will only cover a fraction of the towers that need to
be replaced, and, as reported by Forbes on November 11, 2003, there is
doubt as to whether or not Nextel will be able to pay up.

Even if the company had the $700 million, the additional money needed to
relocate the towers, an estimated $1.5- $2.5 billion, will have to come
from the federal government. The implementation of the Nextel Consensus
Plan will leave interference problems unsolved and taxpayers with a
major loss - all under the guise of "public safety." There are several
alternative plans before the FCC that address the public safety issue,
so the Nextel spectrum swap should be rejected. In a plan that does as
much to benefit the public as lions do to benefit gazelles, the
taxpayers would be the ultimate losers.

CITIZENS AGAINST GOVERNMENT WASTE
1301 CONNECTICUT AVENUE, NW, SUITE 400,
WASHINGTON, DC 20036
202-467-5300

http://www.cagw.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=7461

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From: "Josh O." <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 04 Mar 2004 00:40:43 -0500

...and if the consensus plan does go throught, the additional 1.25billion to 
change P.S. tower frequencies around comes out of our Taxpayers pocket.

I think it is time for the FCC to re-think, and remove the consensus plan 
because it only makes sense to Nextel and the APCO who's officers likely 
have NexTel products and, of course, would be interested in seeing their 
phone company grow.

-Josh

>From: Marcelrf <[email-masked]>
>Reply-To: [email-masked]
>To: "[email-masked]" <[email-masked]>, 	WFHSG 
><[email-masked]>
>Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Wasteful Swap Won't Help Safety
>Date: Thu, 04 Mar 2004 00:31:16 -0500
>

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