Free Press on Tuesday in an FCC filing sought to refute...
Free Press on Tuesday in an FCC filing sought to refute arguments made last week by Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile in support of their proposed spectrum swap (CD July 19 p8). “Verizon’s Opposition and its selected divestiture of AWS to…
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T-Mobile in certain markets, when viewed along side its claims in the SpectrumCo proceeding, demonstrates that its case for additional spectrum is vastly overstated,” Free Press said (http://xrl.us/bnh6zb). “Verizon has failed to demonstrate its need for 40 MHz of AWS spectrum in any market.” The carrier’s argument is based “entirely upon its submission of a few maps purporting to show future congestion, maps based on the black box known as the ‘Verizon Planning Instrument,'” the nonprofit said. It said the agency cannot review the transaction without looking more broadly at the market as a whole. “The Commission must evaluate whether these transfers are in the public interest, an analysis that cannot take place in a vacuum, but with a keen awareness of the Commission’s own concerns about the growing spectrum gap and its impact on the future of competition in the wireless market,” the group said. “If the Commission agrees with the wireless industry’s claims of a looming spectrum shortage, it cannot blindly approve the transfer of spectrum to an already spectrum-rich carrier who has failed to demonstrate that these scarce resources will be utilized fully, to the public’s benefit.” “In numerous filings over the past few months Verizon Wireless has made a persuasive case for its need for additional spectrum to meet consumer needs,” a Verizon Wireless spokesman said in response. “As well, in rationalizing our spectrum holdings, we are ensuring that spectrum can be put into the hands of those entities that can best put it to use to meet consumer needs."