Martin Circulates Proposal for 2.1 GHz Auction Rules
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin began circulating among fellow commissioners a notice of proposed rulemaking describing rules for auctioning the 2.1 GHz spectrum. M2Z sought the spectrum through a license the commission would grant without auction. The commission is expected to portray the spectrum sale as the third in a series of advanced wireless services auctions.
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Martin had circulated an order rejecting a M2Z proposal to use the spectrum to build a national, free wireless broadband network (CD Aug 15 p1). NetfreeUS, NextWave, Open Range, TowerStream, McElroy Electronics and Commnet Wireless are among companies with rival proposals before the commission (CD Aug 27 p1).
Release late Friday of an NPRM was particularly bad news for NetfreeUS. It has told the FCC that if awarded a license without auction, it will build a free network that it would oversee but not run, using a public commons approach. “That’s a shame,” said Shant Hovnanian, CEO of Speedus and managing member of NetfreeUS, said Monday of the NPRM’s issuance. An auction invariably leaves one company controlling whatever spectrum is sold, he said. “We were trying to avoid control by making it Wi-Fi on steroids,” he said. “It’s really spectrum used and operated by the people.”
But other contenders in the band mostly wanted the FCC to reject M2Z’s proposal, instead favoring an auction. “We remain committed to working with M2Z and the FCC to develop rules for the 2.1 GHz band, which we believe will bring much needed wireless broadband competition to the marketplace,” said Jeffrey Thompson, president and CEO of TowerStream.
The first advanced wireless services auction, which closed in September 2006, brought about $13.9 billion. The 2.1 GHz spectrum likely will offered in an “AWS III” auction, perhaps years down the road, well after the 700 MHz auction that starts in January.