Public interest groups opposed to Verizon Wireless’s buy of AWS...

opposition to the transactions in this proceeding as proposed,” they said in a filing at the FCC (http://xrl.us/bnbsuc). “We discussed how Verizon’s claims of need for additional spectrum are vastly overstated, particularly its need for additional spectrum in the markets where it already holds AWS spectrum. We discussed how Verizon’s attitude towards Wi-Fi offloading differs from its industry counterparts, and noted the differences in how Verizon sells ‘buckets’ of data versus its competitors. We argued that Verizon’s seemingly counter-intuitive stance on the benefits of Wi-Fi offloading is driven by its preferred business model, one that seeks to maximize revenues at the expense of efficient spectrum use and consumer welfare.” Representatives of Consumers Union, Free Press, the New America Foundation’s Open Technology Institute and Public Knowledge attended the meetings. “These organizations seem to believe that by repeating these baseless claims enough times they will somehow become less inaccurate,” a Verizon spokesman said in response. “Verizon Wireless has documented on the record and on multiple occasions during this review process its efficient use of spectrum, and has made a strong case that its purchase of unused spectrum to meet the needs of consumers is in the public interest."