The Wireless Communications Assn., National ITFS Association (NIA) and Catholic TV Network (CTN) are trying to resolve conflicts over the length of leases on spectrum owned by educational groups to be made available for sale in the secondary wireless broadband market. But the groups may not be able to broker a deal, onlookers said Wed.
Wireless Spectrum Auctions
The FCC manages and licenses the electromagnetic spectrum used by wireless, broadcast, satellite and other telecommunications services for government and commercial users. This activity includes organizing specific telecommunications modes to only use specific frequencies and maintaining the licensing systems for each frequency such that communications services and devices using different bands receive as little interference as possible.
What are spectrum auctions?
The FCC will periodically hold auctions of unused or newly available spectrum frequencies, in which potential licensees can bid to acquire the rights to use a specific frequency for a specific purpose. As an example, over the last few years the U.S. government has conducted periodic auctions of different GHz bands to support the growth of 5G services.
T-Mobile took its case against opaque bidding in a coming advanced wireless services auction straight to FCC Chief Economist Leslie Marx, widely viewed as a leading proponent of blind bidding. T-Mobile officials, accompanied by U. of Md. economics Prof. Peter Cramton, met Fri. with Marx, according to an ex parte letter. T-Mobile said the FCC should examine the “eligibility ratio,” a measure of supply of spectrum vs. demand, based on upfront bids 3-4 weeks before the auction. If the ratio shows demand is high, it should reveal bidders’ identities during the auction. T-Mobile said, based on the test it suggests, some past spectrum auctions have been competitive while others haven’t. “Although T-Mobile and Prof. Cramton continue to believe that full transparency is the best policy, in the alternative, the attendees discussed establishing a competitive threshold for transparency,” said T-Mobile. “As the auction becomes more competitive, there is a point where full transparency is clearly the best policy, and the above proposals provide an objective, straightforward means of assessing the competitiveness of the upcoming AWS auction so that the FCC can make a reasoned decision on whether to use transparent or blind bidding procedures.”
FCC Chmn. Martin used his first news briefing to push for deregulation of telco video to compete with cable, plus looser media ownership limits. Fiber to the home “should also be free of many regulations… and I think the Commission should act on that,” Martin said: “I am hopeful that we will be able to provide some regulatory relief.” Fiber deployments such as Verizon’s estimated $20 billion FiOS project also help boost broadband deployment, Martin said, calling broadband “the top priority for this Commission.”
Three senators introduced a bill targeting local content on satellite radio. The NAB-backed legislation, coupled with a companion bill in the House, is intended to hold XM and Sirius “accountable” to the national nature of their FCC licenses, the NAB said. The move is the latest salvo in old arguments between satellite radio and the NAB. The SDARS licenses were originally auctioned with national rights only, and the sides have long been at odds over how much satellite can localize its service.
Alltel secured complete ownership of partnerships with Palmetto in the Carolinas for $455 million Thurs. The move is part of what on analyst called a “land grab” in the region as carriers of all sizes try and get as much spectrum as possible coming up on the AWS auctions. Most reports of the acquisition included rumors of a possible Verizon Wireless takeover of Alltel.
An omnibus telecom bill the Senate Commerce Committee is drafting will include a “white space” provision to encourage broadband deployment, Committee Chmn. Stevens (R-Alaska) said Tues. “Tweaking” would bridge differences between his bill (S-2332), which would enable TV white spaces to be used by unlicensed devices, and another (S-2327) introduced by Sen. Allen (R-Va.), he said. Stevens expects to move to a markup of the overall bill now that 16 of 17 planned telecom hearings have been completed, he said.
Vodafone will likely drive a hard bargain in negotiations with Verizon for its 45% of Verizon Wireless, said industry sources we spoke with amid rumors the U.S. carrier made a buyout offer this weekend. A report of an informal bid by the U.K. paper The Business wasn’t confirmed by the firms Mon. Reports pegged the bid at about $40 billion. Industry sources said the number would almost certainly go higher if a deal happens at all, because Vodafone isn’t in nearly as precarious a position internationally as some have thought.
Despite rosy industry predictions and a strong nudge from the European Commission, widespread mobile TV uptake in Europe is far from certain, an analyst said Fri. The technology is “heavily overhyped by the vendor community,” said Strategy Analytics’ Nitesh Patel. Carriers not convinced of the opportunity are forced by competitive threats inside and outside the industry to think seriously about choosing a strategy to pursue the technology, he told us.
The FCC should reverse course on a change to its auction rules for the upcoming advanced wireless services auction, said rural wireless carriers in a petition for reconsideration. The shift would make it harder for smaller players to bid as part of a consortium, they said.
T-Mobile disputed Justice Dept. arguments for letting the FCC allow blind bidding in a June advanced wireless services auction to block bid signaling seen in past auctions. DoJ’s logic is out of date, T-Mobile said. “The Dept.’s analysis is flawed, and its reliance on the results of Auction No. 11 to support non-transparent bidding in Auction No. 66 is completely misplaced,” T-Mobile said. In a March 3 filing DoJ cited 1996-97 misconduct in Auction 11. Auction 11, long a subject of debate, was among those in which Mario Gabelli allegedly exploited rules encouraging small investors to buy licenses. “Mercury PCS used the last few digits of its bids to identify a specific BTA and thereby to signal another bidder, High Plains Wireless, that unless High Plains ceased bidding on a block of spectrum in the identified BTA, Mercury PCS would bid up the price for spectrum in another BTA that High Plains sought to buy,” DoJ said. DoJ admitted the FCC fined Mercury and changed its auction procedures. DoJ said it has identified at least one other example of bidders bending rules, in auction 58 for PCS licenses in Roanoke, Va. The Auction 11 example is irrelevant, T-Mobile said, calling the Roanoke case “one isolated example” after Auction 11. “If the Dept. has harbored concerns about the Commission’s transparent bidding practices, it has had ample opportunity to voice them before, during or after any of the fifty wireless auctions that have been conducted since Auction No. 11,” T-Mobile said.