The 3rd U.S. Court of Appeals, Philadelphia, should not stay revi...

the Minority Media & Telecom Council. Council Tree wrongly claims the DE order violates Communications Act provisions meant to encourage DE participation in spectrum auctions, the FCC said: “But in fact, the rules… strike a balance among the competing policy goals set out in the statute, and Council Tree has not come close to showing that they are unreasonable.” Neither has Council Tree shown it would face irreparable harm from the rules, the agency said: “Conversely, the grant of a stay would cause harm both to other parties and to the public interest. The auction is the product of years of significant coordination between the FCC and other federal agencies to relocate existing government users of the pertinent spectrum so that it could be available for licensing at auction. A stay would harm the public interest by delaying the significant public benefits of the auction and frustrating the substantial public and private efforts invested in bringing it to fruition.” Council Tree’s business plan may have to change to fit tough revised rules for “unjust enrichment,” but other DEs still can get financing to buy licenses, the FCC said: “In any event, the purpose of the DE rules has never been to have DEs participate in auctions solely for the sake of participating in auctions. Rather, the rules are designed to encourage DEs to become facilities-based providers of service. Even if the 10-year unjust enrichment period impedes bidding by some DEs, that rule change makes it more likely that those DEs that do win licenses will become genuine facilities-based providers.”