Martin Defends FCC’s 700 MHz Auction Rules as Pro-Consumer

Martin argued that the agency’s open access rules for a 22-MHz block of the 62-MHz broadcast span (CD Aug 1 p1) will “promote a more open wireless broadband platform” so cell phone subscribers could use the new spectrum for their existing phones. He also said the rules will give U.S. consumers flexibility to try out wireless services already common in other countries, such as using their current handsets to tap into Wi-Fi hot spots.

“All too often today, consumers are required to throw away their wireless phones,” Martin said, noting that he has had to put a few old, obsolete mobile handsets away in desk drawers himself. “They'd like the ability to take their phones from provider to provider.”

Martin also argued that the much-debated open access provision will bring new players into what has been an increasingly consolidated wireless market. But in questioning by reporters later, he disputed the suggestion that the Commission tailored the compromise rules to encourage market entry by Google or any other specific potential newcomers. “We didn’t design the auction for any particular company,” he said. “Nobody got everything they wanted.”

Referring to the 700-MHz band as “beachfront property,” Martin called the spectrum “particularly valuable” because the radio signals “can penetrate walls very easily and can carry lots of information at very low power.” He said the auction -- set for December or January and intended to raise as much as $15 billion for the federal treasury -- “presents a very unique opportunity to upgrade our wireless infrastructure.”

Martin also talked about the DTV transition. Although he sees “lots of potential upsides” for consumers, he expressed concern about “the potential negative effects” for owners of analog TV sets. He singled out the nation’s 32 million analog cable subscribers, who don’t have digital set-top boxes in their homes. “We have to figure out how to do everything we can to minimize the negative impact,” he said. But he didn’t offer any fresh ideas for how the Commission might do that.

Asked why the U.S. trails countries like South Korea in broadband penetration, Martin put the blame mainly on America’s vast rural expanses. He said New Jersey, with the same population density as South Korea, has higher broadband penetration. “You have to take into account the additional cost of wiring rural areas,” he said.

Questioned later about the FCC’s seemingly stricter enforcement of broadcast indecency rules under his two-year reign, Martin insisted that the Commission has made “no real change” in its indecency policies. He also contended that the agency has “always taken into account” the context of a TV or radio broadcast in considering complaints about language. “I don’t accept that there’s a new climate,” he said. “Our indecency rules go back to George Carlin’s seven dirty words. We've only enforced the rules against two of the dirty words.”

Asked about News Corp.’s agreement to buy Dow Jones, Martin took no position on the merger. He said the Commission could evaluate the deal under its newspaper-TV station cross-ownership rules, mainly when News Corp.’s local Fox TV stations come up for license renewal.

Some FCC observers have speculated that Martin might return to the state soon to run for political office. He’s a native of the Charlotte area who graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and earned a master’s degree in public policy from Duke University before going on to Harvard University for his law degree. But, even with a wide open race for the North Carolina governor’s mansion approaching next year, Martin brushed off the notion. He insisted that he’s simply interested in “doing a good job” as Commission chairman.