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PUBLIC NOTICE

Federal Communications Commission

News Media Information 202 / 418-0500

445 12th St., S.W.

Internet: http://www.fcc.gov

Washington, D.C. 20554

TTY: 1-888-835-5322

DA 10-278
February 18, 2010

WIRELESS TELECOMMUNICATIONS BUREAU SEEKS COMMENT ON

PETITION FOR RULEMAKING REGARDING

700 MHz BAND MOBILE EQUIPMENT DESIGN AND PROCUREMENT PRACTICES

RM No. 11592

Comments Due: [30 days after publication in the Federal Register]
Reply Comments Due: [60 days after publication in the Federal Register]

On September 29, 2009, an alliance comprised of four Lower 700 MHz Band A Block licensees
(Petitioners) filed a petition for rulemaking, asking the Commission to “assure that consumers will have
access to all paired 700 MHz spectrum that the Commission licenses, to act so that the entire 700 MHz
band will develop in a competitive fashion, and to adopt rules that prohibit restrictive equipment
arrangements that are contrary to the public interest.”1 Specifically, the Petitioners ask the Commission
to require that all mobile units for the 700 MHz band be capable of operating over all frequencies in the
band.2 The Petitioners further request “an immediate freeze on the authorization of mobile equipment
that is not capable of operation on all paired commercial 700 MHz frequencies.”3 The Wireless
Telecommunications Bureau seeks comment on the Petition.4


1 700 MHz Block A Good Faith Purchaser Alliance Petition for Rulemaking Regarding the Need for 700 MHz
Mobile Equipment to be Capable of Operating on All Paired Commercial 700 MHz Frequency Blocks, filed Sept.
29, 2009 (Petition), at 1. The Alliance is a “joint venture” consisting of Cellular South Licenses, Inc.; Cavalier
Wireless, LLC; Continuum 700, LLC; and King Street Wireless, L.P., each of which is currently the licensee of
Lower 700 MHz Band A Block spectrum. Id.
2 Petition at iii, 12.
3 Petition at 1-2.
4 We note that several parties have already filed comments in various proceedings that discuss either the Petition or
substantially similar issues. See, e.g., Cellular South Comments, WT Docket No. 09-66 (filed Sept. 30, 2009) at 8-
15; Verizon Wireless Reply Comments, WT Docket No. 09-66 (filed Oct. 22, 2009), at 85-92; AT&T, Inc. Reply
Comments, WT Docket No. 09-66 (filed Oct. 22, 2009) (AT&T Reply Comments), at 70-72; Verizon Wireless Ex
parte, WT Docket No. 09-66;GN Docket No. 09-157 (filed Dec. 18, 2009) (Verizon Ex parte); Qualcomm Ex parte,
WT Docket No. 09-66;GN Docket No. 09-157 (filed Jan. 25, 2010); Motorola Comments, RM-11592 (filed Feb. 12,
2010).

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AT&T and Verizon Wireless have indicated that they are pursuing 700 MHz Long Term
Evolution (LTE) mobile devices that operate over the 700 MHz spectrum blocks associated with some or
all of their own respective 700 MHz band licenses but that do not include the Lower 700 MHz Band A
Block (A Block).5 The Petitioners assert that these “equipment design and procurement practices
contravene the public interest,” arguing that, if the equipment offered by these large carriers does not
operate over A Block, mobile 700 MHz “equipment needed by [A Block] licensees in smaller volumes
will likely be available only later in time and at considerably higher price points.”6 The Petitioners also
argue that such practices “are unjustly discriminatory and anticompetitive” in violation of Sections 201(b)
and 202(a) of the Communications Act (Act), and that they are in conflict with other provisions of the
Act, including the universal service goals of Section 254(b)(3) and the license application review criteria
of Section 307(b).7
The Wireless Telecommunications Bureau seeks comment on relevant technical, legal, economic,
and policy issues involving the Petitioners’ request that the Commission commence a rulemaking
proceeding. We note, for instance, that devices capable of operating in the A Block will be using
spectrum adjacent to the full-power DTV broadcasting operations on Channel 51, and to the Lower 700
MHz Band E Block, which may be used for higher-powered mobile services under Commission rules.

Procedural Matters

Interested parties may file comments on or before [30 days after publication in the Federal

Register]

, and reply comments on or before [60 days after publication in the Federal Register]. All
filings should refer to

RM No. 11592

. Comments may be filed using (1) the Commission’s Electronic
Comment Filing System (ECFS), (2) the Federal Government’s eRulemaking Portal, or (3) by filing
paper copies. See Electronic Filing of Documents in Rulemaking Proceedings, 63 Fed. Reg. 24121
(1998).
§
Electronic Filers: Comments may be filed electronically using the Internet by accessing the
ECFS: http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs2/ or the Federal eRulemaking Portal:
http://www.regulations.gov.
§
Paper Filers: Parties who choose to file by paper must file an original and four copies of each
filing. Filings can be sent by hand or messenger delivery, by commercial overnight courier, or by
first-class or overnight U.S. Postal Service mail. All filings must be addressed to the
Commission’s Secretary, Office of the Secretary, Federal Communications Commission.
§
Effective December 28, 2009, all hand-delivered or messenger-delivered paper filings for
the Commission’s Secretary must be delivered to FCC Headquarters at 445 12th St., SW,
Room TW-A325, Washington, DC 20554. All hand deliveries must be held together
with rubber bands or fasteners. Any envelopes must be disposed of before entering the
building. The filing hours are 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
§
Commercial overnight mail (other than U.S. Postal Service Express Mail and Priority
Mail) must be sent to 9300 East Hampton Drive, Capitol Heights, MD 20743.
§
U.S. Postal Service first-class, Express, and Priority mail must be addressed to 445 12th
Street, SW, Washington DC 20554.


5 See AT&T Reply Comments at 72; Verizon Wireless Ex parte at 7.
6 Petition at 2, 4.
7 Petition at 7-9.

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§
People with Disabilities: To request materials in accessible formats for people with disabilities
(braille, large print, electronic files, audio format), send an e-mail to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the
Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau at 202-418-0530 (Voice), 202-418-0432 (TTY).
All filings must be addressed to the Commission’s Secretary, Marlene H. Dortch, Office of the
Secretary, Federal Communications Commission, 445 12th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20554.
Documents in

RM No. 11592,

including a copy of the petition, are available for public inspection and
copying during business hours at the FCC Reference Information Center, Portals II, 445 12th Street,
S.W., Room CY-A257, Washington, D.C. 20554. The documents may also be purchased from BCPI,
telephone (202) 488-5300, facsimile (202) 488-5563, TTY (202) 488-5562, e-mail fcc@bcpiweb.com.
This matter shall be treated as a “permit-but-disclose” proceeding in accordance with the
Commission’s ex parte rules. See 47 C.F.R. §§ 1.1200, 1.1206. Persons making oral ex parte
presentations are reminded that memoranda summarizing the presentations must contain summaries of the
substance of the presentations and not merely a listing of the subjects discussed. More than a one- or two-
sentence description of the views and arguments presented generally is required. See 47 C.F.R.
§ 1.1206(b). Other rules pertaining to oral and written ex parte presentations in permit-but-disclose
proceedings are set forth in section 1.1206(b) of the Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R. § 1.1206(b).
For further information about this Public Notice, please contact Won Kim, Spectrum and
Competition Policy Division, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, at (202) 418-1368.
- FCC -

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