Determining the Source of Inter-License Synergies in Two-Way Paging Networks

In the Federal Communication Commissions (FCC) regional narrowband personal communications services (PCS) license auction (auction #3), bidders paid a premium to provide advanced paging services on a nationwide basis as opposed to a regional scale. This paper investigates the potential source of inter-license synergy for two-way paging, the intended narrowband PCS application. Three sources of inter-license synergy are identified as possible candidates. One source, boundary interference, occurs when two distinct carriers operate in the same frequency in neighboring regions. Another source of synergy derives from the fact that neighboring regions may share common resources. A final source of synergy is the ability to offer seamless roaming.