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800 MHz decision is expected soon Page 2 of 2 advanced communications, she said. "What that does is make Nextel the only player in the band with new technology," Lyon said. But Nextel believes the technical solutions proposed by opponents represent no more than a temporary patch, not a complete resolution. The carrier recently used myriad engineering techniques in an attempt to address its interference problems with the City of Denver, but the parties ultimately decided that a channel swap was necessary. "[The technical-solution proposal] really just delays the inevitable and is inherently reactive,"said Chris Doherty, Nextel's senior director of public affairs. "We think those are good strategies to use after rebanding." It's doubtful the FCC will adopt the portion of the rebanding plan that most concerns Lyons, because the commission wants to permit flexible uses for spectrum, said Rudy Baca, analyst for The Precursor Group. Although there is a good chance Nextel will not get the 1.9 GHz spectrtun it desires, the FCC likely will opt to clean the 800 MHz band by rebanding rather than using technical solutions to mitigate the problems, he said. "We're out of time for patches." 800 MHZ SAGA: BAND ON THE RUN . November 2001: Nextel proposes plan to vacate its interleaved spectrtun in the 800 MHz band and exchange other spectrum in return for unencumbered spectrum at 800 MHz and 1.9 GHz. . March 2002: The FCC releases a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to solicit comments from all parties. • August 2002: The major points of the Nextel proposal are presented to the FCC as the "Consensus Plan," with the blessing of most public-safety organizations. • Early May 2003: Motorola says interference problems at 800 MHz can be resolved if users will deploy better receivers in their systems. • Late May 2003: Dubbed the "Balanced Approach" plan, an alternative to the Consensus Plan is proposed to the FCC that calls for technical solutions instead of rebanding to resolve interference. • January/February 2004: Sources predict the FCC will release its preliminary order to address interference issues in the 800 MHz band. © 2004, Primedia Business Magazines and Media, a PRIMEDIA company. All rights reserved. This article is protected by United States copyright and other intellectual property laws and may not be reproduced, rewritten, distributed, redisseminated, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast, directly or indirectly, in any medium without the prior written permission of PRIMEDIA Business Corp. m 2004 Primedia Business Magazines and Media. All Rights Reserved. For Search PaRners I Contact Us For Ad http://iwce-mrt. com/micro sites/magazinearticle.asp?mode=print&magazinearticleid=190317... 6/23 /04