FCC Told to Reject Google’s Proposals for 700 MHz Band
Google’s last-minute proposal (CD May 23 p1) for changes to the 700 MHz service rules were soundly rejected by commenters. Google asked the agency to clarify that in seeking to recoup their outlays, licensees could use auctions similar to those Google uses to sell search advertising. Google also asked the FCC to reserve the E-block in the lower 700 MHz band for 2-way interactive applications connected to the public Internet.
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The FCC should reject last-minute efforts “to inject unfounded proposals into this proceeding,” Verizon Wireless said in its comments. Verizon Wireless is particularly harsh on Google’s proposal for “pre-device registration” to create a wireless commons. “The conditions Google seeks threaten the entire model upon which the Commission has for the past decade auctioned spectrum and fostered the incredible growth of the U.S. wireless communications industry,” said Verizon Wireless.
Qualcomm said Google’s proposals “would radically alter FCC fundamental policies for no good reason.” Using its own tortured history with the Pioneer’s Preference program where the FCC awarded spectrum in the early 1990’s for “innovative” uses, Qualcomm says it’s “ironic” that Google, “which purports to favor market-driven policies,” would suggest the Commission make decisions on innovation. “To its credit, ever since the Pioneer’s Preference fiasco, the Commission has recognized that it should not put itself in the positions of having to… decide which applications are ‘innovative,'” said Qualcomm.
Accepting Google’s proposal would be tailoring its rules for a specific business plan, said the Rural Telecom Group (RTG). The FCC shouldn’t “pick winners and losers… and should not tailor its rules specifically to favor one business model over another,” said RTG. The FCC shouldn’t mandate the use of the real-time auction model, it said.
Wireless Entrepreneurs Support Frontline
Separately, the Wireless Founders Coalition for Innovation -- a group of entrepreneurs including those that created the market for ringtones and Palm -- came out in support of Frontline’s open access wholesale proposal. The 15 entrepreneurs each have experience working with the 4 nationwide wireless carriers. “Having to engage with the Big 4 at each cycle in the process can slow time to market and increase risks and costs for the entrepreneur,” they said.
The coalition is only asking that the E-block be used for open access. “As entrepreneurs we are not only visionaries, we are pragmatists. We know it is difficult for the FCC to force the large carriers to open up their existing networks retroactively,” they said. Wireless doesn’t mean it is more complex, said the group: “RF technology is becoming increasingly commoditized, which means that it is now possible to embed wireless capabilities into devices using off-the-shelf component parts.”
The FCC is expected to complete 700 MHz auction and service rules this summer, which would permit the auction to begin this year. Congress ordered that it begin before Jan. 28, 2008.