RF Shorts - June 29, 2012

FCC Forum on Future of Wireless Band Plans

The FCC announced this week it would hold a Forum on Future of Wireless Band Plans on Monday, July 16.

“This forum will serve to launch a continuing dialogue between the Commission and key industry stakeholders and will explore the technological issues affecting wireless band plan design, the commission said in its announcement.”The forum will include discussions on the impact of developments in filter technology on band planning, LTE trends and their implications for future band plans, and network operator perspectives on band plan design.” 

While broadcasting wasn't mentioned, interference between the lower 700 MHz wireless services and high power broadcasting on Channel 51 has been an issue, as I reported in my article "Qualcomm Examines Ch. 51/56 Interference on Wireless Systems" earlier this month. 

SBA Communications Buying 3,252 Towers From TowerCo

Bloomberg reports SBA Buys 3,252 Towers From TowerCo for $1.45 Billion. James Callan and Beth Jinks write, “The deal is Boca Raton, Florida-based SBA’s largest in at least 13 years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The company in February agreed to pay about $1.1 billion for 2,300 towers in the U.S. and Central America from Mobilitie LLC, as well as outdoor distributed antenna system assets in Chicago, Las Vegas, New York City and Auburn, Alabama. That cash and stock deal completed in April, and was projected to add about $75 million in tower cash flow in 2012.”

According to its web site, SBA has over 10,000 owned and managed sites.