McDowell Says No Decision on Carterfone Yet
Comr. McDowell said Thurs. he has made no decision on a Skype petition asking that Carterfone rules apply to wireless. He was addressing the Content Abundance in a Multiple World conference at Catholic U.
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“I'll take a look at it,” McDowell said of the Skype petition: “At first blush, and being somewhat familiar with Carterfone, there are a lot of distinctions to be made, but I certainly appreciate the spirit of the filing.” The FCC this week extended the deadline for comments on the Skype petition, based on a joint request by Skype and CTIA saying both sides need time. Comments are due April 30, a month later than the original due date; replies, May 15.
Other speakers at the conference agreed that making more spectrum available quickly will spur broadband deployment, especially with the growing importance of wireless broadband. Speakers disagreed on whether enough unlicensed spectrum is being offered. “There has been an over-reliance on spectrum auctions,” said Andrew Schwartzman, pres. of the Media Access Project: “An auction system promotes a handful of players with deep pockets.” He said carriers have engaged in “very sophisticated conspiracies” in bidding that protects incumbents.
But Kathleen Ham of T-Mobile said there must be a balance between licensed and unlicensed spectrum. “The reason the Commission has spectrum auctions is there isn’t enough spectrum,” she said: “The Commission can’t be picking the winners and losers.” Ham noted that the FCC holds dozens of auctions that get almost no publicity. “A lot of small businesses are getting spectrum for a lot of different things,” she said.