The FCC could do serious harm to the...
The FCC could do serious harm to the prospects for a successful incentive auction if it limits any carrier’s ability to buy spectrum, said AT&T Senior Vice President Bob Quinn in a blog post. “Some are arguing that the Commission…
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should engineer the auction rules to ensure that Sprint and T-Mobile (both of whom chose not to participate in the last major auction for 700 MHz spectrum) win spectrum,” Quinn wrote (http://bit.ly/15HLazH). “If the incentive auction rules are manipulated to essentially set aside spectrum for these or other providers, less revenue will be generated. Broadcasters, fearing they will not receive top dollar for their spectrum due to that set aside, will contribute less spectrum to the auction. This will, in turn, jeopardize the entirety of the auction including the critical goal of raising the billions of dollars necessary to fund FirstNet, a result that would harm all consumers by depriving our first responders of the tools necessary to fight 21st century threats and protect our country.” Quinn cited a recent letter to the FCC by the Public Safety Alliance on the importance of raising enough money through the auction to pay for FirstNet: “As the PSA reminded us, ’the upcoming incentive auction represents the best and perhaps only chance for the next several years to raise the billions of dollars necessary to fund FirstNet.'” Steve Berry, president of the Competitive Carriers Association, said in response Friday that smaller carriers want AT&T and Verizon Wireless to participate in the auction but not to “walk away with the entire pie” as they largely did in the earlier 700 MHz auction. “AT&T guys want the same thing that Verizon got in the [700 MHz] auction,” Berry said. “They want to bid on a large number of licenses and have no limitations. ... It makes no sense whatsoever to let the two largest carriers walk away with the entire pie.” Sprint and T-Mobile are members of the CCA. “The only way the incentive auction will raise billions of dollars is through healthy competitive bidding that ensures everyone, not just AT&T, has a fair shot,” said T-Mobile Federal Regulatory Vice President Kathleen Ham. “If AT&T is allowed to scare off competition, as it is trying to do now, it will deter bidding by other parties, reduce what AT&T pays for valuable low-band spectrum, restrict the amount of money collected by the government and foreclose on meaningful future competition in wireless broadband.”