NIA News

At the St. Petersburg Hilton Bayfront Hotel 206 EBS/BRS colleagues, an array of experts, the most knowledgeable engineers and attorneys plus the representatives of the major manufacturing consulting and operating companies involved in the expansion of broadband wireless met in sunny St. Petersburg from February 19 through 21, 2007 to discuss and become better informed on all the current information and issues affecting their EBS/BRS licenses..

On the technology side at NIA2007, they had “What You Need To Know” sessions on Wi-FI, Wi-Max, MESH networks, and the ancillary wireless applications at the top of the most useful list.

NIA 2007 brought all attendees up to date on the progress toward "Transition" being made on both the commercial and non-profit sides - what they can do with the FCC’s 5% required retention, and how to compute how much spectrum they really need to do what they want to do.

On the legal side there were sessions manned by those who keep a watchful eye on FCC Regulation and particularly, on the legal requirements of Transition.

The Leasing, Leasing, Leasing - The Legal Issues session focused on the contractual issues - what could or should be in an Excess Capacity Lease Agreement to best protect the near and long term interests of the licensee.

And, there was an updating session on Valuation – what recent deals mean to the worth of their spectrum, both to them and others.

For the first time, there was a session for 40 First Timers to help get them up to speed on EBS issues , the current EBS environment, and to match them with a NIA Senior who can tell them where to look for the information they need after NIA2007.

Better make your plans now to attend the next year's full conference and meeting as this one was labeled "Outstanding" by all attendees.

Copies of the NIA 2006 Annual Conference presentations provided to NIA have been posted under the "2006 Presentations" section of the "Articles" section of this web site.

Feedback from NIA's 2006 Annual Meeting and Conference Attendees is that most, if not all, of the 75 attendees who went to the Professional Development Seminar and the 184 attendees who came to this year's conference said this year's conference provided the information they needed and were looking for and was a resounding success!

The Official Attendance for this years conference exceeded the attendance for the 2005 conference by 10 (184 vice 174) and this is the most attendees for an NIA Annual Conference so far.

Please invite others who should attend so we can exceed 200 attendees for next year.

One of the attendees said this was the best organized conference he has ever attended. And, compliments are continuing to come in.

All attendees enjoyed the Paseo del Rio - sequestered 20 feet below street level, and one of San Antonio's jewels.

Better known as the "River Walk,"

the cobblestone and flagstone paths which border both sides of the San Antonio River as it winds its way through the middle of the business district is alive with lots of activity and are senic and enjoyable.

The River Walk does have multiple personalities and received raves!

The Riverwalk is quiet and park-like in some stretches, while other areas are full of activity with European-style sidewalk cafes, specialty boutiques, nightclubs and gleaming high-rise hotels.

Official attendance for this year's meeting of 174 exceeded last year's by 22 and is the highest so far.  We would like to see at least 200 attendees for next year's conference.  So, please encourage all who missed this year's conference to be sure to attend next year.  A list of all NIA 2005 Conference Attendees has been sent to each attendee.

The Big Event Dinner Cruise on San Diego Harbour was also a success and was attended by 118 of the 188 conference registrants and guests. All enjoyed a very pleasant evening of fine dining and sight seeing of the San Diego Harbour skyline and surrounding areas.

A random drawing was held during the cruise for the HDTV provided by AirCable America and the winner was Richard Haemmerle, Station Manager - V.P., Telecare -  Diocese of Rockville Centre, Uniondale, NY.

For the full text of the FCC Report and Order on the revised rules for ITFS and MMDS:
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-135A1.pdf (for pdf format), or
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-135A1.doc (for Word format).

June 10, 2004
Memo from Todd Gray, NIA FCC Counsel

At its open meeting on June 10, the FCC unanimously adopted a Report and Order in the pending rule making proceeding on the ITFS/MDS band plan and rules.  We believe this decision is a big win for ITFS.

On the issues of most importance to us:

The FCC decided ("resolved with finality," as Commissioner Copps put it) that the educational eligibility requirements for ITFS will remain in place.  Commercial entities may lease ITFS spectrum, but they cannot buy it or out-bid educators for it at auction.

The FCC adopted a slightly revised band plan from the one we initially urged.  We'll provide more detail in forthcoming messages.  The bottom line, however, is that this band plan will work:  each four-channel ITFS licensee will receive a 6 MHz "mid-band" channel that will enable it to continue video services, as well as three 5.5 MHz cellular channels, just as we proposed.  There will be a small loss of spectrum by each ITFS licensee (in the form of guardband spectrum and the I band audio response channels) that will enable the FCC to accommodate MDS Channels 1 and 2 in the band, although the loss is lessened by the FCC allocating an additional 5 MHz of spectrum to the band at 2495-2500 MHz.  The relocation of MDS 1 and 2 became a regulatory inevitability at the end, but we were thankfully able to kill the notion of taking more spectrum to create new channels to be auctioned to the highest bidder.

The FCC apparently adopted the new technical rules that we proposed, which should make it possible for educators and their commercial partners to roll out advanced two-way services (such as wireless broadband).

The FCC also apparently agreed on our proposal for a proponent driven transition from the old band plan and rules to the new band plan and rules, with the proponent being responsible for the transitioning of ITFS licensee's existing video services at no cost to the ITFS licensee.  There is apparently a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that will also be issued, to enable the FCC to explore other transitions mechanisms in case the proponent driven one doesn't work in a reasonable time frame (three years).

All in all, we're very pleased, and very thankful for the substantial efforts of the ITFS and education community whose support turned things around here at the last minute.

There is an expression that we're hearing here now --  "the devil's in the details."  We now have to see exactly how the FCC has dealt with the myriad details in this proceeding in the text of the Report and Order and the new rules, to make sure they got them right.  We don't expect to see the actual text for some time (perhaps some weeks).

FCC Filing:

• Comments of WCA, NIA and CTN
• Joint Comments of the Catholic Television Network and the National ITFS Association
• Reply Comments of WCA, NIA And CTN
• Attachment A - Analysis of Required Parties to Washington, DC Transition

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking - summary & concerns

On April 2nd, The FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding new rules for ITFS and MMDS. This 137 page NPRM follows the joint proposal submitted by NIA, CTN and WCA last October. Read the excellent summary prepared for NIA by our own Todd Gray, and learn about the concerns this NPRM raises. Also, check our listserv list for further discussion. Contact Don MacCullough if you aren't already on our list.

NIA, WCA and CTN File Jointly for New Two-Way Rules

A white paper submitted by the Wireless Communications Association International, Inc. ("WCA"), the National ITFS Association ("NIA") and the Catholic Television Network ("CTN") to assist the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau staff in its efforts to revise the rules and policies governing the Multipoint Distribution Service ("MDS") and Instructional Television Fixed Service ("ITFS").