Martin Likes Elements of Frontline Broadband Proposal
The FCC is giving strong consideration to a proposal by Frontline Wireless, which suggests a market-based plan for a national public safety network. Chmn. Martin views parts of the plan favorably, sources said, because Frontline proposes an auction for the spectrum and seeks no special deal from the FCC. The Commission also is scrutinizing the possibility of allowing package or combinatorial bidding during the auction. That could help Verizon Wireless or any big company wanting to buy a nationwide license for the spectrum.
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The main sticking point on Frontline’s proposal seems to be a possible requirement that it be put out for public notice. Martin wants the FCC to vote on service rules for the 700 MHz auction at its April meeting, giving potential bidders at least 6 months between the rules’ release and the auction’s start, expected in the fall. The notice issue has 8th floor offices seeking advice inside the FCC and out, sources said.
Decisions must come quickly. For an April 25 vote on service rules for the 700 MHz auction, an item would have to start to circulate by Wed. -- 3 weeks before the meeting.
The Commission could endorse the Frontline proposal without opening a separate docket, a lawyer said. “There is at least an argument that given that there is an open proceeding already it wouldn’t be totally unreasonable for the FCC to just go to final rules incorporating the Frontline proposal,” the source said.
A lawyer with concerns about the Frontline proposal said it seems to have momentum at the Commission. “Since Frontline has now conceded that a public notice is necessary I suspect that one will be issued,” the lawyer said: “The question is, how soon will the notice issue and how short will the comment cycle be.”
Martin could put out a separate notice dealing only with the Frontline proposal and link it to the 700 MHz proceeding, a source said. That could be a “safer” way of avoiding legal challenges, the source said. The Frontline proposal technically could fit into the 700 MHz proceeding, but a separate proceeding would clarify that the Commission has authority to use the 10 MHz for public safety. The Frontline proposal has tepid support from public safety groups, which have lobbied hard for the Cyren Call proposal. But the Cyren Call proposal seems doomed: Lawmakers don’t seem inclined to support measures needed to advance the plan.
Public safety groups favored Cyren Call’s plan because it would have let safety officials control the spectrum, not merely have access to it. Frontline’s proposal likely has a decent chance for bipartisan FCC support, but it’s difficult to predict, sources said. All commissioners endorse safety and interoperability, but Frontline’s proposal hasn’t been proven sufficient, a source said. Safety groups’ views doubtless will be important. They have been silent on the Frontline proposal, and carriers actively oppose the plan.
Package bidding would work to the benefit of Verizon Wireless and any other company seeking to provide nationwide service at 700 MHz, sources said. Verizon is eyeing a bid for as much as 30 MHz of the 60 MHz being auctioned. Other strong advocates of package bidding are DBS operators which, through the Coalition for 4G in America, argue that package bidding raises chances of creating a national broadband contender at 700 MHz.
In package bidding a company can bid for a nationwide license rather than bid regionally, which risks getting stuck with licenses in just a few regions. If the package bid is higher than the sum of smaller bids, the package bidder wins the license. If not, bidders for individual licenses triumph.