The government, as evidenced by a recent Department...
The government, as evidenced by a recent Department of Justice report on spectrum and competition, is taking a “unique, consumerless” approach to competition, said Jonathan Lee, a former Justice lawyer who does work for carriers, in a blog post (http://bit.ly/17y1iFg).…
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“Like most tin foil hat [paranoia] theories, this one has a small kernel of logic,” Lee said of the DOJ filing on spectrum and competition (CD April 15 p7). “For a smaller carrier, especially a new entrant, low-frequency spectrum provides a lot more value per cell site -- and requires a lot less cell sites -- for a carrier to achieve adequate coverage. But do the FCC and DOJ want to promote smaller carriers or new entrants? Of course not; that might provide consumers with some value.” The government’s view of competition is based on “a lot of flawed premises -- all of which come from the same flawed premise: consumer preferences don’t count,” he said. “The relevant geographic market is national, not because this is the way consumers actually purchase wireless service, but because this is the way the government likes to look at it.”