AT&T and Reed Hundt continued their war of words over spectrum...

or risk allowing companies to monopolize spectrum. “As Reed admits, Congress gave the FCC discretion in the PCS C Block auction, and it used that discretion in a way that resulted in an auction that was a disaster for the industry and for the Treasury,” AT&T Executive Senior Vice President Jim Cicconi said Thursday. “And the flaw, in our view, was not simply a function of installment payments. It was the decision to have a closed versus an open auction. Our point is that an auction should be open to all competitors, not just to those hand picked by the FCC.” Hundt replied that the House bill strips the FCC of discretion to promote market competition “for no reason.” Even AT&T will benefit if all carriers are able to buy spectrum, Hundt said. “The House bill would delay the auctions for years and limit the amount of spectrum for all carriers. This isn’t as bad an outcome for [AT&T] as it is for their competitors but it is somewhat bad for [AT&T].” About his handling of the C-block auction, Hundt said, “The fact that 17 years ago I made 2 mistakes which had nothing to do with bidding eligibility … should not be held against an agency that is now in very competent hands, and is advised by the best theorists in the world.”