The Federal Communications Commission has announced that it will issue a Report and Order with coexistence rules for Sirius XM (SIRI) and the Wireless Communications Services band at its next Open Commission meeting, scheduled for May 20:
- “WCS-SDARS Report and Order: A Report and Order that enables robust mobile broadband use of 25 MHz of spectrum in the 2.3 GHz Wireless Communications Service (WCS) band while protecting neighboring incumbent operations.”
One can only hope that this will settle the years old conflict between these services, allow Sirius XM to move forward, and free the WCS license holders to finally roll out WiMAX services in their respective license areas.
Meanwhile, auto industry reps continue to write in on behalf of Sirius XM, the latest coming from the American Trucking Associations:
“Trucking companies and their drivers were among the first to embrace satellite radio and arguably have adopted it more quickly and generally than the public at large,” ATA writes. “In addition to a channel dedicated to trucking talk (Road Dog Trucking Radio) satellite radio’s wide array of programming choices offer a welcome nationwide entertainment option for drivers that spend a considerable portion of their time in the cab. The ‘return on investment’ made by trucking companies and drivers outfitting trucks with SDARS is dependent on continuous high quality, uninterrupted transmission.”
During the May 20 meeting, the FCC will also release the latest edition of its Mobile Wireless Competition Report, analyzing the state of competition in the mobile industry.
