AT&T and T-Mobile have long been at odds...

MHz auction in New Zealand. T-Mobile initially cited the auction as evidence in support of its arguments for limits in the incentive auction (http://bit.ly/1d52UJ4). AT&T Vice President Joan Marsh said there are stark differences between the New Zealand rules and limits sought by T-Mobile. “T-Mobile seeks a limit on all low band spectrum holdings, not just the spectrum newly available at auction,” Marsh wrote in a blog post (http://bit.ly/1biQQma). “New Zealand crafted generally applicable limits that apply only to the spectrum being sold.” T-Mobile’s proposal would also “skew the auction in its favor by limiting only those bidders that exceed its newly-proposed low band cap -- namely AT&T and Verizon Wireless,” Marsh said. “By contrast, New Zealand’s approach treats all bidders equally by imposing a limit on the amount of spectrum any one bidder can acquire.” On Friday, T-Mobile Vice President Kathleen Ham responded on her company’s blog. “AT&T this week acknowledged for the first time that, indeed, it is comfortable with upfront spectrum caps for auctions,” she said (http://bit.ly/1c5Y2lR). “That represents huge progress for AT&T, which has been arguing for months against any limits for the upcoming 600 MHz low-band auction. Although AT&T takes a shot at the filing that pointed out that New Zealand has joined most of the industrialized world in using aggregation limits in spectrum auctions to promote competition, spur innovation and stimulate economic growth, the key take-way from Joan Marsh’s blog is that upfront auction caps, if applied in a fair, nondiscriminatory manner, would be acceptable.”