The FCC should rethink the spectrum parts of the National Broadband Plan in light of the experience of the last two years, said Blair Levin, manager of the plan, and FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell last week in separate interviews. Friday marked the two-year anniversary of the formal release of the plan, at the FCC’s March 2010 meeting.
UBS raised its 12-month price target for tower company Crown Castle to $59 from $51, citing site rental revenue and earnings growth and 20 percent annual growth in U.S. wireless capital expenditures. “We continue to believe the U.S. tower companies are well positioned to benefit from industry trends, 4G deployment by new and existing carriers, increased data usage and potential spectrum auctions,” UBS said.
The quest to solve the spectrum crunch is far from over, said panelists at an Institute for Policy Innovation conference Wednesday. The success of the wireless industry, with new technologies and more efficient spectrum usage, is “far from final,” said CTIA President Steve Largent. U.S. carriers will need more spectrum, and competition in the industry is needed to keep up with innovation and usage levels, meet consumer needs and for the country to remain a global wireless leader, he said.
The quest to solve the spectrum crunch is far from over, said panelists at an Institute for Policy Innovation conference Wednesday. The success of the wireless industry, with new technologies and more efficient spectrum usage, is “far from final,” said CTIA President Steve Largent. U.S. carriers will need more spectrum, and competition in the industry is needed to keep up with innovation and usage levels, meet consumer needs and for the country to remain a global wireless leader, he said.
New numbers compiled by UBS show what could be a troublesome trend for the FCC, with Verizon Wireless and AT&T continuing strong subscriber growth, as Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile fall further behind. The numbers, gathered from the most recent company reports, come as the FCC prepares the 2012 version of the Wireless Competition Report. The agency is also likely to consider rules that could potentially limit Verizon and AT&T participation in upcoming spectrum auctions, including the eventual voluntary incentive auction of broadcast spectrum.
The FCC should “future proof” upcoming spectrum auctions by not imposing overly restrictive rules and giving carriers room to maneuver, FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell said in a speech at the GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. McDowell said he does not want to see a repeat of 2008’s 700 MHz auction, where “onerous encumbrances” imposed by the FCC led to a less successful auction. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski also spoke to the GSMA.
The FCC shouldn’t impose rules that would limit the participation of the largest carriers in future spectrum auctions, former FCC Chief Economist Tom Hazlett said Wednesday during a presentation sponsored by the Hudson Institute. Legislation approved by Congress last week opens the door to such rules, but only through a separate public rulemaking with general industry applicability (CD Feb 17 p1). Hazlett is a professor at the George Mason University Law School.
The House and Senate passed long-awaited spectrum legislation on Friday as a “pay-for” in the payroll tax cut extension bill. President Barack Obama praised the bill and was expected to sign it into law. The spectrum law (CD Feb 17 p1) authorizes the FCC to conduct voluntary incentive auctions, a recommendation from 2010’s National Broadband Plan. It also sets up national public safety wireless broadband network ten years after one was recommended by the 9/11 Commission.
Congress is poised to approve as early as Friday legislation extending the payroll tax cut, which also gives the FCC authority to hold voluntary incentive auctions of broadcast spectrum. The agreement on the spectrum provisions was a win for FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski who had made a push on the bill one of his top priorities, industry and FCC observers said, and a victory for public safety. A wireless industry official said he expects the FCC to move quickly to start developing rules for an auction, but an actual auction could be four to six years away.
Excluding AT&T and Verizon from spectrum auctions would result in less revenue for the U.S. Treasury and higher prices for consumers, said a paper released Wednesday by the Georgetown Center for Business and Public Policy. The 700 MHz auction showed that “placing conditions on spectrum reduces the value of that spectrum,” said Anna-Maria Kovacs of the center. “The key lesson of Auction 73 is that a neutral auction -- one that is open to all bidders and free of conditions -- benefits consumers and competition, as well as the Treasury.” AT&T and Verizon are “spectrum-constrained” and spending significantly to keep up with customer demand, Kovacs said. “Rationing the spectrum available to the largest carriers by excluding them from the proposed incentive auction is likely to degrade their service, raise their cost, and force them to raise their prices.” Competitors might buy spectrum “at deep discounts” without the top two carriers bidding, but “there is no assurance that they will pass that saving on to consumers,” she said. There are no “obvious new entrants on the horizon” showing interest in buying spectrum to create a new competitive network, Kovacs added.