Startups Make Case for Increasing Restrictions on Incentive Auction Buys by AT&T, Verizon

A group of startup companies urged the FCC to modify rules for the TV incentive auction by increasing the amount of reserve spectrum to be sold to 40 MHz. Carriers with more than 45 MHz of low-band spectrum in a market will be restricted to buying only unreserved spectrum under rules approved last year (see 1405160030). “We are entrepreneurs, technologists, investors, and innovators,” the Wednesday letter said. “Through the incentive auction, we have a rare opportunity to increase innovation and investment in U.S. mobile broadband by allowing multiple new competitive carriers to access the spectrum they need to compete with the dominant incumbents.” Startups signing the letter were 1226 Digital, 1991 Management Co., Bassline, Bento for Business, Biggerpan, Bizzy, Castr, Consumerproof, Convo, Darwin Reactive, Dialect, Electric Imp, Fligoo, Fytns, Hattery Labs, InMarkit, Keen IO, Metapattern, Neighborland, Olio Devices, Pick1, Plickers, Poacht, ReaMetrix, Skuchain, SportsFeed, Tab, Tahoe Mountain Lab and Zenput.