800 MHz Rebanding -Wave 4
The FCC has announced that Wave 4 of the 800 MHz rebanding will begin on July 3, 2006. (Public Notice DA 06-526) Under the original band reconfiguration schedule, Wave 4 was to begin on April 3, 2006. However, the FCC was concerned that negotiations with Canada and Mexico regarding reconfiguration of the 800 MHz border area frequencies could be affected. As a result, an adjustment was made so as to allow more time for these negotiations to be completed.
As with the three previous waves, Wave 4 begins with a three-month voluntary negotiation period where identified licensees in the affected regions can reach an agreement with Nextel on the details of relocating. This period during which non-NPSPAC 800 MHz licensees have the option of negotiating on a voluntary basis will end on October 2, 2006. Following this, a three month mandatory negotiation period will begin, if necessary, going until January 2, 2007. The states included in Wave 4 are as follows:
- Region #1—Alaska
- Region #3—Arizona
- Region #5—California (Southern)
- Region #21—Michigan
- Region #29—New Mexico
- Region #30—Eastern Upstate New York
- Region #33—Ohio
- Region #36—Western Pennsylvania
- Region #43—Washington
- Region #50—Texas (West & Central-Midland area)
- Region #53—Texas (Southern-San Antonio area)
- Region #55—Western Upstate New York
Effective as of June 2, 2006, the filing of most 800 MHz applications for non-NPSPAC channels in Wave 4 are frozen. This freeze applies to stations located in the Wave 4 regions and to stations within seventy miles of the borders of these regions. The freeze will be lifted thirty working days after mandatory negotiations have been completed.
