Adelstein Worried about Outlook for D-Block Auction
FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein said Thursday he’s deeply concerned about the future of the 700 MHz D-block, especially with the collapse of U.S. credit markets. Adelstein said he was still studying the proposed rules, scheduled for a vote Sept. 25.
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!
“I'm enormously concerned,” Adelstein said after speaking at the Law Seminars International spectrum conference. “We're finding that the credit markets are freezing up. In order to purchase the D block, this is going to require a lot of capital. The capital markets were already very nervous last time around. The inherent challenges of establishing a framework that will work are complicated enormously by the tightness of the credit markets.”
Adelstein also said he was concerned the comments by officials from New York and other major cities asking the FCC to give the 700 MHz spectrum directly to public safety to use (CD Sept 16 p1), rather than holding a new auction. “The danger of another failed auction is huge delay for public safety getting their hands on” the 700 MHz spectrum, he said. “Already as a result of the mistakes that we made in the initial auction there has been enormous delay in getting that spectrum to public safety.”
Adelstein said he’s studying whether the auction rules could give Verizon Wireless and AT&T an advantage over other carriers. “I'm still evaluating that,” he said. “I haven’t come to any conclusions… I want to make sure we're heading in the right direction.” But Adelstein said he had concerns that too few small carriers bought licenses in the 700 MHz auction. Verizon Wireless and AT&T were the big winners.
Verizon Wireless bought the nationwide C block, which came with a requirement to offer subscribers open access. “In this case the choice that was essentially presented to us was do you want to have open access?” he said. “If you do, you've got to have to have a big, nationwide block.”
Commissioner Debbie Tate also said Thursday she had concerns about the D-block auction. But she indicated after a speech to the 3G Americas wireless technology briefing that she’s hopeful. “I'm pleased the chairman has put forth such a broad and comprehensive proposal,” Tate said. “Now it’s our job to hone questions and listen to what the industry as well as the public and of course members of Congress have to say.”