The short answer, maybe!
Select Spectrum has initiated a lobbying effort in Congress and at the FCC to allow for schools and colleges to apply for 2.5 GHz EBS licenses in areas that are not yet fully licensed. The idea is for the schools to in turn lease the exclusive rights to use the licenses at moderate prices to commercial operators including your company. The result can be faster, lower cost and better fixed wireless services for your company to deliver to its customers, and the ability to show a differentiating asset to investors.
On Monday, October 16th Bob Finch from Select Spectrum, Julia Morelli from George Mason University Instructional Foundation, Inc., Sam Rock from Gulf Coast Broadband and Todd Smith from Total Spectrum met with Congressional Staff Members to discuss the issue of EBS “not yet licensed space”. Overall the feedback was positive, and we are hopeful the extra push from Congress will make the Consensus Proposal a priority with the FCC.
What you can do to help!
- Donate money to continue the lobbying effort. Select Spectrum has already made the commitment to the lobbyist for the first three months, but we would like to spread the cost among the likely beneficiaries and are fully aware that this issue will take longer than three months. We will need financial contributions from other companies to continue the lobbying effort. None of the donations will go to Select Spectrum. In fact, Select Spectrum intends to treat the donations to the lobbying effort as an investment and refund all monies participants put into the lobbying effort by offering 50% credits towards future commissions from our 2.5 GHz Spectrum Lease Auctions, for all Auctions that take place after supporters sign up and continue to support the effort.
- Encourage schools in your areas that do not have licenses to write to the FCC to encourage the FCC to approve the Consensus Proposal or something similar. A sample template letter is available.
Click here for the steps to file the letter with the FCC. - Use local political contacts to help expedite the process of encouraging the FCC to issue new EBS licenses.
- Consider meeting with Congress Members, their Staff and/or the FCC to advocate for the Consensus Proposal and most importantly for a prompt decision. These meetings may either be in the district offices of House Members and Senators.
We need the assistance of commercial operators and educational institutions to help make this a priority for the FCC.