XM, Sirius Ask FCC to Ignore Equipment Maker Criticisms
XM and Sirius accused U.S. Electronics of trying to exploit their proposed merger to force them to do business with the company, a former equipment maker for Sirius. XM and Sirius said USE offers only “informal objections” to their merger, which should be ignored. An attorney for USE replied that equipment makers have legitimate concerns about how the merger would change the market.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
USE has been the most active filer in the merger docket, other than XM and Sirius. USE has made 42 ex parte filings to the FCC since its first in July -- nine more than the National Association of Broadcasters, the merger’s main opponent.
USE’s protests “constitute an attempt by a former manufacturer/distributor to extend its fight against Sirius beyond the contours of the on-going arbitration to achieve results via a merger condition that were not achieved during USE’s markedly unsuccessful contractual relationship with Sirius,” said XM and Sirius. “In essence, USE invites the Commission to insert itself in the arbitration between Sirius and USE in order to require Sirius to license USE to manufacture and distribute Sirius equipment.”
Charles Helein, who represents U.S. Electronics at the FCC, said Thursday: “Arguing that the FCC should ignore USE’s comments because it wants to do business with the merged entity and that only informal objections have been filed is symptomatic of the applicants’ acknowledgment that they have no answers to USE’s demand for conditions -- and hence rather than presenting cogent argument, rebuttal facts, they simply stick their heads in the sand.”