Vote on 700 MHz Auction Rules on Target for April Agenda Meeting
Chmn. Martin plans a vote on rules for the 700 MHz auction at the April 25 agenda meeting -- though he didn’t circulate an order Wed. giving colleagues the usual 3 weeks to study the item, sources said Thurs. Martin asked other FCC members to waive this rule. He’s expected to circulate an item as early as today (Fri.).
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“They're still trying to figure out where Frontline fits in and staff didn’t start drafting it until very late,” said a lawyer who works on wireless issues. A Frontline rulemaking, with tight comment deadlines, is expected to be in the auction rules Martin proposes. (See separate story in this issue.)
Commissioners and staff have been meeting this week with representatives of parties interested in the 700 MHz auction. Commissioners hope to approve auction rules as quickly as possible so an auction can begin in the fall.
Meanwhile, Public Knowledge, the Media Access Project, Consumers Union, the Consumer Federation of America, the New America Foundation and Free Press urged the auction rules include principles such as wireless net neutrality, comparable to conditions approved in the AT&T-BellSouth merger order. “The timing is critical; services have not yet been deployed in the 700 MHz band, which means that auction winners have time to incorporate the openness principle into the design of their networks from their inception,” the group said in one of the 3 filings to the Commission.
Allying as Save Our Spectrum, the groups recommended that 30 MHz of the 60 MHz being auctioned be licensed for “open access,” which they said would “create opportunities for a ’third pipe’ competitors that can challenge the market dominance of cable modem and DSL services.” Large wireline and wireless incumbents would be barred from bidding for this spectrum or have to bid through structurally separate affiliates.
The coalition wants blind auction bidding and rules that prevent winning bidders from cutting off opportunities for competition by warehousing spectrum. The FCC should think through the rules so it gets them right, group representatives said Thurs. in a media call.
Though Martin is close to releasing the 700 MHz rules, the coalition expects to influence the version the agency adopts, Gigi Sohn, pres, of Public Knowledge, said: “The chairman is not the only decision-maker here. I'll bet you there are at least several Commissioners who will be very sympathetic to our filings. It’s not unheard of for things to get changed at the very last minute. Late filings like this are common practice at the FCC.”
“This spectrum in our view represents the last, best hope for meaningful competition in broadband,” Jeannine Kenney, senior policy analyst at Consumers Union, said: “We're talking about competition to the broadband duopoly as well as competition among Internet content and service providers and applications, where consumers and not the Bell and cable gatekeepers would pick the winners. What we're looking for is a competitor to that duopoly.”
“This is the last large auction of prime spectrum in the foreseeable future,” said Michael Calabrese, vp of the New America Foundation.