Clearing the Way for Emergency Responders in Largest Realignment of Radio Spectrum Ever Attempted

Squire Sanders was selected in 2004 to serve as General Counsel to the 800 MHz Transition Administrator (TA), a hand-picked team charged with oversight and administration of the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) 800 MHz reconfiguration program. The program will end potentially life-threatening interference with public safety communications caused by commercial systems operating on the same frequencies. The TA multidisciplinary team includes two other partners, Deloitte Consulting LLP and Baseline Telecom, Inc.

The reconfiguration program requires almost 1,500 public safety radio systems to change their operating frequencies. The transition began in 2005, and will be the largest realignment of radio spectrum in US history.

Diverse and complex, our role on the TA includes:

• Serving as General Counsel and as a member of the Leadership Team charged with overall program administration.
• Monitoring, reviewing and implementing FCC guidance and requirements, representing the TA before the FCC, addressing issues that arise on a daily basis with FCC staff, and reporting the results of the program to the FCC on a weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual basis.
• Developing and staffing a process for the resolution of disputes which, to date, has resulted in the mediation of reconfiguration agreements between Sprint Nextel and more than 1,600 licensees.
• Developing model agreements and reviewing more than 2,300 reconfiguration-related agreements between licensees and Sprint Nextel.
• Developing and implementing a reconfiguration schedule and numerous processes and policies pertaining to frequency assignments, confidentiality, communications, system upgrades and reimbursement of labor costs.