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Pricing: |
US$ 995 Single user license |
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US$ 2,995
Global user license |
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(unlimited number of users in
the same legal entity) |
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Executive Summary
As of November 2005 there were 1,767 BRS Licenses and 2,571 EBS
Licenses listed on the FCC ULS License Search web site. These
numbers have been very stable over the past several months with
only the occasional change in ownership noted. An examination of
the license details shows that there has been very little change
activity in these licenses in the past couple of years. There is
not likely to be much activity until the transition proceeding is
complete.
Those licenses were shared amongst 1,980 license holders
(companies) controlling the totality of EBS, BRS and WCS licenses
in the USA.Initially MDS
licensees paid a total $216 millions through the initial auctions
in 1996 and thereafter. Since then, many licenses changed hands.
Now there are 367 companies using the BRS spectrum and a
staggering 1,598 companies controlling the EBS spectrum. This
report provides a current and clear listing of who are those
licensees.
Until 2005 commercial broadband
wireless operations in the 2.3 GHz (WCS) band have been limited
primarily to equipment trials or limited deployments in small
markets. In the 2.5 GHz (BRS) band operations have been ongoing
for years by the incumbent MDS and ITFS operators. These
operations have been limited to video and limited data service.
This service was generally used for the transmission of data and
video programming to subscribers using high-powered systems, also
known as wireless cable. Over the years the uses have evolved to
include digital two-way systems capable of providing high-speed,
high-capacity broadband service, including two-way Internet
service via cellularized communication systems. Such services
provide consumers integrated access to voice, high-speed data,
video-on-demand, and interactive delivery services from a wireless
device.
There has been very little activity
in the WCS licenses since they were granted in 1997. A total of
282 x 5.0 MHz licenses equivalent to 1,410 MHz of spectrum were
made available for this service.
WCS Outlook
WCS License holders are getting ready for a significant push in
2006/7 as most of the WCS licenses were granted in 1997 and are
due to expire in 2007. RFPs activity has increased significantly
in 2005 from those license holders as confirmed by vendors
themselves. Many of these companies are in the same equipment
search mode as their BRS counterparts. For those licensees who
hold both BRS and WCS licenses (notably BellSouth and Nextel) it
makes good sense that they will combine their broadband service
offerings under a common equipment supplier. After all, a
potential customer does not care whether his WISP is providing
service in the 2.3 or 2.5 GHz band.
Overall, Maravedis believes that
2006 will be the year of decision for both WCS and the newly
transitioned BRS Broadband Wireless offerings.
BRS Outlook
In 2004, the Commission released a ruling defining the
transition of the MDS/ITFS rules to a new service called BRS –
including commercial Broadband (BRS) and Educational (EBS)
broadband services. Since release of this R&O1,
several petitions for
reconsideration have been filed by interested parties seeking
modifications to the ruling. These petitions will serve to extend
finalization of the transition process. The Commission was
supposed to rule on these petitions in September, but this process
was put on hold due to the hurricanes, etc. Public comment
solicitations have not yet been circulated by the FCC. It is hoped
that this will occur before the end of 2005. Another factor
delaying widespread commercial deployment is that some of the
major license holders (BellSouth, Nextel, etc.) are still
evaluating equipment and planning their networks. Several of these
licensees have stated that they want to deploy mobile WiMAX.
Nextel (Sprint) are developing an 802.16 e based solution in
partnership with Mororola.
Craig McCaw’s Clearwire (dba Fixed
Wireless Holdings) is proceeding with a portable NLOS 2
solution from its manufacturing arm NextNet Wireless. BellSouth
is proceeding with
limited deployments using a pre-WiMAX product from Navini
Networks. BellSouth is likely to accelerate completion of their
Florida BTA licenses next year as these were granted in 1996 and
expire in March 2006.
The challenge for all operators is
that WiMAX radios in the 2.3/2.5GHz bands will not be commercially
available until at least the end of 2006. Therefore license
holders will have to continue deploying proprietary or "Pre-WiMAX"
equipment for at least another 12 to 15 months.
Summary of the three major BRS Licensees:
Today the 3 top license holders of
BRS/WCS spectrums in the US have licenses which cover 80 percent
of the population.
| Licensee |
PSA |
BTA |
POP |
MHz |
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BellSouth,
dba BellSouth Wireless
Cable |
36 |
6 |
9,070,577 |
TBD |
|
Clearwire
Dba Fixed Wireless
Holdings |
59 |
24 |
4,693,347 |
TBD |
| Nextel
(Including Sprint) |
268 |
198 |
157,519,832 |
TBD |
Sprint and Nextel currently have a
combined total equity value of approximately $70 billion and serve
more than 35 million wireless subscribers on their networks and 5
million additional subscribers through affiliates and partners.
The two companies, along with their affiliates and partners,
operate networks that directly cover nearly 262 million people,
more of the U.S. population than any other carrier.
The key decision of the FCC not
only allowed the combined company to keep its 2.5GHz spectrum, but
laid down conditions that should see broadband services based on
it be within reach of at least 30 million US homes before the end
of the decade. According to the FCC statement, the combined
operator is under obligation to "fulfill its voluntary commitment
to meet certain milestones for offering service in 2.5GHz band,
unless circumstances beyond its control prevent the merged entity
from reaching those milestones". Specifically, Sprint Nextel is
required to offer services using this spectrum to reach at least
15m Americans within four years, and an additional 15 million
potential subscribers within six years.
The FCC has already announced plans
to open up the 3.6GHz band under a light licensing scheme to
stimulate rural broadband, which still may be pushed mostly to
start ups, rather than fall into the hands of the RBOCs. But that
3.6GHz spectrum will be shared, so the 2.5GHz and 2.3GHz bands are
the most likely to lead to a country wide broadband wireless
service in licensed spectrum. This in turn will trigger other BRS
license holders to accelerate their deployments or… resell/lease
their existing licenses when possible! |
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