A group appointed by the FCC to deal with minority issues urged t...
A group appointed by the FCC to deal with minority issues urged the agency not to change designated entity (DE) rules for spectrum auctions without considering the impact on small minority companies with revenue as low as $125 million.…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
Two subcommittees of the Advisory Committee on Diversity urged the Commission to convene the full committee before acting on the DE rules. The group fears the agency will expand a proposed change in DE rules to include smaller companies, it said. The FCC originally eyed banning competitive bidding preferences for DEs with “material relationships” with large in-region incumbent wireless service providers, the subcommittees said. “It appears that, as part of that proceeding, the Commission is considering the adoption of a much broader rule that would prohibit the award of competitive bidding preferences to DEs having material investment from or relationships with any entity with revenue in excess of $125 million,” the committee said. In a draft resolution sent to the full committee, the smaller bodies said the FCC shouldn’t extend the prohibition beyond the largest wireless carriers because “the wireless industry is extremely capital-intensive and technically complex” and DEs need access to “sources of capital and expertise to have any chance of acquiring licenses and successfully providing service.” Entities with revenue in excess of $125 million are the most logical sources of investment and experience, the draft said.