MULETA SAYS ORDER NEARLY READY ON CINGULAR-AT&T WIRELESS
The Wireless Bureau has a team of 15 staffers working full time on the Cingular-AT&T Wireless merger, plowing through the information filings made by rival carriers and other documents, Chief John Muleta said Tues. The bureau likely will make a recommendation on the merger to the full Commission within the next 2 months, he said.
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“It’s a big job,” Muleta said during a meeting with reporters: “There’s still a lot of paper that we have to look at… There’s a lot of data. It’s a very analytical process.” Muleta said the FCC made extensive data requests of other carriers to get “context” for its decision: “Looking at only a single company might not give you sort of the best picture of what’s going on in the marketplace. We're trying to get a snapshot of what’s taking place in the industry right now.”
The FCC is looking at implications of the merger for competition in general, not just in the wireless sector, Muleta said. Critics of the merger, led by Consumer Federation of America, have raised questions about the market power implications of SBC and BellSouth owning both wireline and the major wireless carrier in several states. “I'm not sure that the relationship between the parents is a key driver,” Muleta said: “We're seeking to chase down all the hypotheses that have been made by the parties.”
Muleta also said the FCC will likely take up a controversial order opening H-block spectrum to auction at its Sept. meeting, despite the objections of wireless carriers. Muleta said time considerations may rule out an examination of revised rules for Auction 58, scheduled for Jan. 12.
Both issues have been the subject of intense industry lobbying. Carriers last week asked the FCC to hold off on allocating the H-band spectrum for auction or proposing auction rules until more testing can be done on “overload interference” issues (CD Aug 17 p7). Muleta said those questions can be resolved in a rulemaking on service rules.
“We feel that any testing that needs to be done can actually be incorporated into the service rule component [of the rulemaking],” Muleta said: “There’s plenty of time for parties to come in… I'm not sure a delay serves us much. I think we need to get the spectrum out in the marketplace and get it ready for people to start planning around the use of this spectrum.”
The spectrum to be offered for auction has been the subject of some confusion. FCC is trying to get away from terms like “H-block.” An agency source said Tues. that the order will likely propose the auction of spectrum at 1915- 1920 and 1995-2000 MHz and at 2020-2025 and 2175-2180 MHz. The order is due to be circulated to commissioners’ offices starting late Thurs.
On Auction 58 -- the pending auction of licenses returned to the FCC including most of those awarded to NextWave -- FCC has been under pressure by carriers to make more licenses available through an open auction, not subject to “designated entity” set asides. Muleta said no decision has been made on these requests, but he observed that rulemakings require “inordinate” time.
“The real question is do you want to get the spectrum out in the marketplace or do you want to start a rulemaking,” he said. “Opening up the rulemaking could [take] a very long time and we do feel that there is sufficient demand out in the marketplace so we're trying to move along fast.”
The only comment FCC has received from Nextel on the final 800 MHz rebanding order, released Aug. 6, was last week at the APCO conference by Senior Vp Robert Foosaner (CD Aug 12 p2), Muleta said. “We haven’t heard anything specific other than the comments that they made about, for example, the selection committee of the [Transition Administrator],” he said. “They want 2 votes instead of one, that kind of stuff. I'm not sure that those are the core issues I think they have.” Muleta conceded Nextel may not have to make a decision on whether to agree to terms for several months, since publication of the order in the Federal Register could take 60 days from issuance.