Transition Administrator Publishes Statistical Data on Planning Funding Agreements

Business Wire, Feb 8, 2007

WASHINGTON -- In an Order issued January 8, 2007, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) determined that Public Safety licensees involved in the 800 MHz Band Reconfiguration Program may disclose or exchange with one another the terms of Frequency Reconfiguration Agreements (FRAs) or Planning Funding Agreements (PFAs) negotiated with Sprint Nextel Corporation. This is information that otherwise may have been subject to contractual confidentiality obligations with Sprint Nextel. The FCC also directed the 800 MHz Transition Administrator (TA) to publish aggregated information regarding median costs for the key common elements of approved PFAs and FRAs, based on system size.

The TA has published statistics for Planning Funding Agreements on its website at www.800TA.org/content/implementation/Planning_Funding_Statistics.asp. The statistics were gathered from over 140 approved Planning Funding Agreements and include:

* Typical incumbent and vendor costs, expressed as medians and percentiles, for the five major categories of work found in all PFAs: Frequency Analysis, System Inventory, Engineering & Implementation Planning, Legal Support, and Project Management;

* Typical incumbent and vendor labor rates for these five work categories; and

* Typical distributions of incumbent and vendor costs across all work categories.

The TA expects that this information should prove beneficial to stakeholders in expediting the preparation and negotiation of Planning Funding requests, but it is provided for information purposes only. Licensee costs can and do vary according to a number of factors. The TA reviews all licensee cost estimates and will approve any reasonable and prudent expenses directly related to the reconfiguration of the licensee's 800 MHz system. Licensees must certify that all of their costs are the "minimum necessary" to provide facilities comparable to those presently in use.

The TA is compiling similar information for FRAs for release at a later date. Licensees with questions or concerns are always encouraged to contact the TA directly via email at comments@800TA.org or by phone at 888-800-8220.

About the 800 MHz Transition Administrator, LLC

800 MHz Transition Administrator, LLC ("TA LLC") is the Transition Administrator ("TA") for the reconfiguration of the 800 MHz band mandated by the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC"). TA LLC has contracted with BearingPoint, Inc., Squire, Sanders & Dempsey L.L.P. and Baseline Telecom, Inc. to perform the duties of the TA. Among its duties, the TA establishes reconfiguration guidelines, specifies replacement channels, reviews reconfiguration cost estimates, monitors payment of reconfiguration costs, manages the relocation schedule, facilitates issue resolution and administers the alternative dispute resolution process. TA LLC uses information it receives solely for the purposes of administering the 800 MHz reconfiguration process and may disclose such information to the FCC or other authorized parties pursuant to the requirements of the 800 MHz Order or other applicable laws.