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To: SpudFarmer who wrote (41128)	9/15/1999 12:13:00 AM
From: Ruffian	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 152472

FCC> Tuesday September 14, 10:40 pm Eastern Time U.S. FCC expected to relax wireless airwave cap WASHINGTON, Sept 14 (Reuters) - The Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday is expected to ease ownership limits on licenses to offer wireless telephone service, in a move to help carriers roll out new Internet and data services, according to people familiar with the agency's discussions. Large wireless carriers had asked the agency to remove altogether the ownership limits, which cap the amount of airwaves any one company may control in a market at 55 megahertz out of 180 megahertz available for phone service. But with competition flourishing and prices for service plummeting, FCC officials were fearful that removing the cap would reverse the trend and lead to massive consolidation. So the agency plans to begin granting case-by-case waivers to the cap when companies can show that they plan to use new airwave space for new services like high-speed Internet connections. The cap will also be raised in rural areas where competition has not yet arrived and some airwaves are going unused, FCC sources said. Also on Wednesday, the FCC is expected to give wireless carriers greater flexibility in meeting its rules on emergency calls using 911 services. The FCC has previously required that wireless carriers add a capability to locate callers using 911 by October, 2001. The original rules required carriers to use equipment added to their networks to locate callers. On Wednesday, the agency is expected to allow carriers to also meet the requirement by adding location equipment to wireless telephone sets equipped with Global Positioning Satellite receivers. ''We're revising the rules to take advantage of technology,'' FCC chairman William Kennard said. ''Because the technology has improved and our rules have to keep up.''