LANDRIEU BILL WOULD BLOCK MVDDS LICENSE AUCTIONS
Legislation introduced Thurs. in the Senate would prevent the FCC from holding auctions for Multichannel Video Distribution & Data Service (MVDDS). The proposed Emergency Communications & Competition Act (ECCA) (S-564), introduced by Sen. Landrieu (D-La.), is designed to speed deployment of MVDDS, which she said would reduce cable rates and create more broadband access. Northpoint probably would be the biggest benefactor of such legislation, sources said.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
Landrieu told the Senate the bill was identical to S- 2922, which she introduced late in the previous Congress. Co-sponsors include Senate Commerce Communications Subcommittee Chmn. Burns (R-Mont.), Sens. Sununu (R-N.H.), Dodd (D-Conn.), Gregg (R-N.H.), Hutchison (R-Tex.), Inouye (D-Hawaii), Jeffords (Ind.-Vt.), Leahy (D-Vt.), Lieberman (D- Conn.), Lott (R-Miss.), Mikulski (D-Md.), Kennedy (D-Mass.), Miller (D-Ga.), Dorgan (D-N.D.), Kerry (D-Mass.).
Landrieu said the bill would restore fairness to the FCC licensing process by subjecting MVDDS to the same requirements as satellite providers. “Currently, the FCC plans to subject only MVDDS applicants to an auction process,” she said: “This would impose a discriminatory tax on an innovative new technology. Unfortunately, this is more of the same burdensome regulation that I believe has contributed to the collapse of the telecommunications sector.” Landrieu said her bill would prohibit the FCC from conducting an auction for licenses that re-used satellite spectrum for fixed terrestrial operations.
Auctions for MVDDS would delay introduction of the service to the public, Landrieu said. “In this case, industry incumbents can abuse the auction process to block the introduction of new competition,” she said: “A company with vast resources available could easily trounce a small startup in an auction -- and then, under the terms of the FCC’s order, it would not have to deploy service for 10 years.” The bill would ensure that only “qualified” applicants would be licensed -- only services that could show they wouldn’t cause harmful interference, she said. Licensees would have to carry local TV coverage, air emergency alert warnings and provide transmission facilities to national security and emergency preparedness officials in times of emergency.
Landrieu said the bill would enhance public safety by improving the communications infrastructure. But in her speech to the Senate on the bill, she highlighted the rise in cable prices and the need for more competition. “If MVDDS can go head-to-head with incumbent cable systems in all parts of the country, I believe that this good-old-fashioned competition will result in lower prices and better service for consumers -- even for those who don’t choose to subscribe to MVDDS,” she said. She cited Bureau of Labor Statistics figures that showed cable rates had risen 11.4% in 2 years, compared with a 3.8% increase in the Consumer Price Index. Landrieu said the Consumers Union and local broadcasters supported the bill.