Industry Canada protects MCS,MDS from having to migrate, adds mobile allocation

A recent decision by Industry Canada to align its 2500 MHz spectrum policy with that of the United States has given MCS and MDS operators the certainty they need to follow through on their long-term business plans. On Nov. 16, the department announced that those providers wouldn’t have to migrate to another band as was previously considered (RoW, Jan. 22/01) and that it was also considering adding a mobile allocation to the band. Licence-holders Inukshuk Internet Inc. and Image Wireless Communications Inc. can now move forward with network deployment and service implementation. "We wanted to give certainty to our existing licensees in both MCS and MDS bands to move forward with their business plans," Fern Léger, director of spectrum and radio policy at Industry Canada, tells Report on Wireless. "We wanted to align our allocation with the U.S. in order to benefit from the economies of scale from a larger market."Prior to the decision, the uncertainty regarding the 2500 MHz band made it difficult to make long-term plans. The decision provides companies such as Inukshuk Internet with assurances it needed to move forward. "What this allows us to go ahead and do is the business case we’re working on and the trials we’ve been (conducting) to move forward into the commercial phase, which is great news," says Dean Proctor, VP regulatory affairs at Microcell Telecommunications Inc., which owns Inukshuk. Inukshuk will now be looking to have its current licences extended to the full 10-year licence term to reflect the new reality of the 2500 MHz band. Late last year, the MCS provider had only received three-year licences due to the uncertainty surrounding those particular frequencies (RoW, Jan. 22/01). Proctor expects the department will move forward on that front and will grant the company the extension. Léger confirms that’s the case. "We will revise our conditions of licence to reflect the press release in the sense of giving them the long-term (licence)," he adds. Uncertainty regarding the MCS frequencies arose during the U.S.-based Federal Communications Commission (FCC) examination of potential bands for mobile 3G. Former U.S. president Bill Clinton launched the process last fall in a move to bring the United States in line with what the rest of the world was doing regarding the identification of third-generation spectrum (RoW, Nov. 13/00). Band evaluations by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the FCC identified several options. One was to migrate current 2500 MHz licensees out of the band and the other was for the U.S. military to free some of its spectrum holdings in the 1700 MHz frequency range to make way for 3G. The latter was the preferred 3G migration path of the Canadian government and the North American wireless industry. The former plan caused an uproar among the Instructional Fixed Television Services (IFTS) and MMDS communities south of the border. In Canada, the government, the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association and industry players threw their support behind these groups, saying that the best possible 3G plan was not to use the 2500 MHz band but to go with the 1700 MHz frequency range (RoW, March 5/01). Proctor explains that the uncertainty surrounding the 2500 MHz band became moot once the FCC identified two bands of clean spectrum – 1700-1760 MHz and 2110-2170 MHz – that it would consider for potential 3G allocation. "(So) when it became obvious that (relocating existing 2500 MHz licensees) wasn’t going to happen in the States, it also became obvious that there was no need to do it in Canada," he says. Mobile allocation in band doesn’t raise concerns While adding a mobile allocation in the 2500 MHz band south of the border caused a stir among some players and interested parties, here in Canada there doesn’t appear to be any specific concern. Proctor says that this is part of harmonizing Canadian spectrum allocations with those in the United States. To reflect this change in allocation, Industry Canada will soon be launching a consultation on how the added allocation would be dealt with and on other licensing issues. "We said we would consult on the allocation per se and any (other issues) in the near- to medium-future," Léger says. "It’s a matter of how they play with various services and then any licensing considerations, if and when some of this added flexibility plays." No timetable has yet been established for the consultation. Léger says that it depends on the input from several parties. Work progressing well behind the scenes on deployment Proctor tells RoW that, despite a dearth of press announcements on the subject, Inukshuk has been quietly conducting trials of next-generation MCS equipment. "Just because we haven’t released any press releases, doesn’t mean we’re not doing anything," he says. "How exciting is it to announce we’ve issued an RFP? How exciting is to announce trials are continuing?" The company has invested millions of dollars to roll out its learning plan, which is now operational in its 12 licence areas. Proctor says U.S.-based Sprint’s recent decision to abandon first-generation fixed wireless equipment only serves to prove Inukshuk’s decision to find the right equipment. "For us, (this) is basically vindication of our approach, which was to go out and make certain we had the best equipment available that would evolve," he says.

Industry Canada protects MCS,MDS from having to migrate, adds mobile allocation

News | November 27, 2001

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