The United States and Mexico signed a spectrum-sharing agreement to support the operations of commercial entrepreneurs expected to deploy advanced wireless services along the U.S.-Mexican border, the State Department announced Friday.

Under the deal, senior telecommunications officials from both countries agreed to support emergency responders and other state and local public-safety organizations. The goal of the agreement, which was reached Nov. 8, is to facilitate reliable border communications that work across jurisdictions...

Some companies already have bought the rights to the licenses to use the commercial spectrum. Under a congressional mandate, the FCC must auction all designated spectrum by Jan. 28, 2008. The agreement was forged under a 1994 U.S.-Mexico framework agreement covering terrestrial, non-broadcasting radio communication services. The FCC in the United States and Mexico's Ministry of Communications and Transportation and its Federal Telecommunications Commission are responsible for the implementation of the protocol...

James Snider, a senior research fellow at the New America Foundation, said "this whole treaty assumes that the digital TV transition really will happen in February of 2009, but this doesn't necessarily have to happen," as financial and policy issues remain...

For the complete article, please visit the Technology Daily website.