T-Mobile Loser in Wheeler Draft Order on Incentive Auction
The FCC is starting to brief stakeholders on two key TV incentive auction items teed up for a vote at its July 16 meeting, industry officials told us Wednesday. Briefings have started on the auction procedures public notice and the spectrum holdings order to be circulated by FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, the officials said. One key takeaway from the briefings is that T-Mobile lost in its push to get the FCC to up the ante on a May 2014 proposal and increase the amount of reserve spectrum set aside in each market for companies with comparatively little low-band spectrum -- in many cases the competitors to AT&T and Verizon, industry sources said.
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!
T-Mobile has mounted a major campaign to get the FCC to add to the 30 MHz reserve, setting aside 40 MHz of 600 MHz spectrum in every market (see 1506150067).
The FCC also dropped its proposal to impose dynamic reserve pricing (DRP) that was strongly opposed by some broadcasters (see 1506150053), industry officials said. That means the FCC would essentially freeze the amounts broadcasters would get for the spectrum they offer in the auction rather than potentially reducing payouts as the auction continues. The FCC also didn't agree to the change in the starting price formula for broadcasters that was sought by the Expanding Opportunities for Broadcasters Coalition.
“It’s not over yet,” a T-Mobile spokesman told us. “We have a long way to go. The public conversation on the future of the mobile Internet continues. The five FCC commissioners still need to make their decision.” Some 4,000 letters have been filed at the FCC in recent days, in docket 12-269, urging a larger spectrum reserve (see 1506150067).
Wheeler acknowledged in a blog post Wednesday that briefings are underway on the next stage of auction rules, starting Tuesday with staff for the commissioners. It's now time for the FCC to make decisions, Wheeler said.
“For the last 19 months all the interested parties have been jockeying for rules that benefit their position,” Wheeler wrote. “I understand the jockeying -- I once engaged in it myself -- but it is now time to end the back-and-forth and make decisions. No single party will be happy with everything we’ve done, but the final product is a balanced solution to a challenging situation with more moving parts than a Swiss watch.” The FCC gets that the rules should be as simple as possible, he said. “We have thus eliminated earlier ideas that added to complexity.”
“He’s baaaaack,” said Mobile Future Chairman Jonathan Spalter Wednesday of T-Mobile CEO John Legere. Legere “and his infamous leather jacket” were once again making the rounds at the FCC and on Capitol Hill last week seeking a large spectrum reserve, Spalter wrote in a blog post. “For a self-proclaimed ‘uncarrier,’ Mr. Legere sure is spending a lot of time inside the beltway with his company’s tin cup in hand,” he wrote. “It makes sense given the tall order he’s after: Convincing government officials to set aside even more spectrum for T-Mobile to acquire without competing in the bidding process with national rivals, Verizon and AT&T.”