Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Where's the signal?- FCC action leaves some cell users with dead air

From: Marcelrf <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 31 Mar 2004 16:07:38 -0500

Wednesday, March 31, 2004

Where's the signal?

FCC action leaves some cell users with dead air

Jane Moorman For El Defensor Chieftain

Got a signal?

That's the question some cellular phone customers have been asking
recently, including some in Socorro County.
"I don't know what's going on," said Toby Jaramillo of Jaramillo Land
Investments and Appraisals in Los Lunas. "I've had great service until
three months ago."

Jaramillo reports that, since the first part of November, he has had
poor reception with sometimes the call ending abruptly, having static
while talking to another cellular phone and having calls go directly to
voicemail without the phone even ringing.
The problem began on Nov. 6, the day the Federal Communication
Commission ordered broadcasting on call sign KNKN217 to cease.

The KNKN217 call sign had been owned by Alee Cellular Communications, of
South Carolina, and managed by Alltel Communication Inc.

The 25 MHz signal system was broadcast from antennas on six towers in
the NMRSA3 area that covers the area from Isleta Pueblo's southern
boundary south to Truth or Consequences and 20 to 25 miles east and west
of Interstate 25.
One of the antennas is in Valencia County on a tower located on DeHaan
Loop, off the Manzano Expressway. The other antennas are located in
Socorro, Bernardo, Truth or Consequences, San Antonio and in the Caballo
Mountains in Socorro County.

Alee's original NMRSA3 authorization was revoked by the FCC's Wireless
Telecommunications Bureau because of non-U.S. citizen ownership concerns
and lack of candor, according to FCC memorandum opinion and order
FCC03-200 dated Aug. 6; upholding an earlier revocation of the call
sign.

The FCC granted Alee an extension of its existing special temporary
authority for 90 days to permit it to complete an orderly termination of
its cellular operation in NMRSA3 to ensure that its customers are
provided with an adequate opportunity to make alternative arrangements
for wireless service.

The call sign was terminated on Nov. 6, along with Alee's authority to
operate on that radio wave spectrum.
Alltel Communication Inc., the wireless communication companies that was
using the KNKN217 call sign, is relying on its roaming partnerships to
provide service to its customers in the Valencia County area.

"Alltel relied on that provider (Alee) for coverage of its customers in
Valencia County and NMRSA3. We are now relying on roaming partners in
that area, just like we would in a nationwide roaming agreement," said
Scott Brown, Alltel vice president and general manager for the central
New Mexico market.

"For the majority of customers in the area, the change was transparent
from a usability perspective — the ability to dial the phone and receive
calls and how it will appear on their bill."

Because Valencia County is included in Alltel's local footprint, the
amount the customer pays for a call will not change, Brown said.  "Nor
will it change how they dial the phone or how customers can reach them."

Lauren Patrich, special counsel for public affairs with the FCC's
Wireless Bureau, said the spectrum, or radio wave, license will be
placed for sale in an auction. She expects the process to take several
months.

"Five companies have filed applications for the cellular license,"
Patrich said of a process that began on May 5 with a public notice to
file applications for purchase of the call sign.

Among the companies to apply are Alltel Communications, ComNet Capital,
McElroy, Smith Bagley and Western Wireless.
"When the auction is held, the spectrum license will go to the highest
bidder," Patrich said.

Meanwhile, the other spectrum licensee in NMRSA3 will provide coverage
for the area.

"The FCC's spectrum plan provides a minimum of nine spectrum licenses in
any given area. Two 25 MHz cellular and six personal communication
system licenses — three for 30 MHz and three for 10 MHz," Patrich said.
"Whether they are all operating is determined by several factors,
including if they have all been auctioned, how many companies hold the
licenses, because a company can hold more than one, and if the company
who purchased the license is up and running."

Valencia County has towers in the county that serve cellular companies
including Qwest, Sprint, T-Mobile and Nextel.
Patrich said FCC engineers are reviewing the tower patterns in NMRSA3 to
determine how much of Alee's tower pattern is not being covered by other
towers.

"It is likely that the signal cover of Alee and the other cellular
licensee in NMRSA3 are not exactly the same at the margins," she said.
"Which is the likely reason that subscribers may notice a difference in
coverage until another carrier can put that license back into service."

In addition, Patrich indicated that without one of the cellular licenses
being used in the area, the call load on the other operating spectrums
could cause delays in service.

http://www.dchieftain.com/news/39409-03-31-04.html
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