FCC Nixes Cyren Call Plan

The FCC has dismissed a petition by Cyren Call to allocate 30 MHz of spectrum in the 700 MHz band for a shared commercial and public safety network, saying the group’s request is “inconsistent” with the FCC’s rules. Congress ordered that the frequencies in the 747-762 and 777-792 MHz band be put up for public auction, which could raise several billion dollars for the U.S. Treasury. Cyren Call’s ground-breaking proposal would have cancelled the auction and allocated the spectrum for a commercially-operated national network, shared between ordinary customers and public safety agencies. However, in its ruling, the FCC said that only Congress could approve such a plan and the FCC had no authority to act. Cyren Call chair Morgan O’Brien has been lobbying Congress for several months on the proposal, and has said he will not give up on the plan. Read the FCC’s response here.