RFSTUF

Is the 800 MHz TA Relying too Heavily on Cost Metrics?
By Matthew J. Plache

In January 2007, the FCC's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau overseeing the 800 MHz public-safety reconfiguration released an order designed to level the playing field in negotiations by breaking down the information imbalance between Sprint Nextel and public-safety licensees. Prior to that time, Sprint Nextel had access to the universe of cost information from every individual deal, while individual licensees were forced to negotiate in a vacuum, restricted from access to information on any deal other than their own. The January 2007 order allowed public-safety licensees to share frequency reconfiguration agreement (FRA) and planning funding agreement (PFA) cost information among themselves. The order stated that sharing such information "is necessary to the conduct of good faith negotiations."  ...