Wireless Carriers Raise Red Flag on FCC Licensing Proposal
Carriers cautioned against proposals for additional performance requirements, in replies in docket 10-112 on an FCC Further NPRM asking about ways to modernize the licensing process for geographic wireless licenses. Commissioners approved the FNPRM, 3-0, as an addition to an…
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.
order creating a unified regulatory framework for wireless radio services rules (see 1708030026). “Additional performance requirements under consideration in the FNPRM will undermine, rather than promote, the Commission’s goal to increase wireless service deployment, especially in rural America,” T-Mobile said. “Carriers that wish to serve areas at current performance requirement levels may make the determination that they are unable -- for economic, competitive, siting or other reasons -- to meet enhanced buildout requirements, leading those carriers to simply abandon plans.” AT&T said “targeted incentives,” including increased license terms for rural build-out and special funding mechanisms like the Mobility Fund, are the best way to spur deployment. “The record demonstrates that adding new performance benchmarks on wireless licensees at renewal would force carriers into uneconomic and inefficient builds and siphon limited financial resources from projects that increase network capacity,” AT&T said. “While it supports the FCC’s goal to minimize the digital divide, CCA agrees with the record that offering incentives for rural buildout is a more appropriate way to meet the Commission’s objectives,” the Competitive Carriers Association commented. But the FCC should reject proposals to impose new regulatory or buildout requirements on existing licenses or renewal applications, the group said. “Increased burdens and economic hardship would hinder, rather than promote, buildout in rural America.” The proposed buildout requirements “would be harmful -- they would likely compel uneconomic buildout, distort investment decisions, and depress the valuation of both existing and to-be-auctioned spectrum,” CTIA said.