FCC Has Given Competitive Carriers Enough Advantages in TV Incentive Auction, Verizon Says

The FCC should draw the line against giving competitive carriers any more incentives to buy spectrum in the TV incentive auction, said Kathleen Grillo, Verizon senior vice president-federal regulatory and legal affairs, Monday in a blog post. “If ever there was an example to confirm the old adage about taking a mile after gaining an inch, we’re seeing it in the incentive auction,” Grillo wrote. “T-Mobile, Sprint and DISH are large, spectrum-rich companies that have already received a spectrum set-aside from the FCC in the incentive auction. Now they are agitating for an even bigger one. Policymakers should see this spectrum grab for what it is: a case of greed masquerading as need.” The three want the FCC to set aside as many as three 10 megahertz licenses in every market for competitive carriers, Grillo said. The three “may play the sympathy card at the FCC, but they are multibillion dollar corporations capable of bringing serious money to the auction table and bidding for spectrum on the same terms as everyone else,” she said. Competitors should have a fair shot at buying incentive auction spectrum and consumers deserve more competition, responded Steve Berry, president of the Competitive Carriers Association. “Verizon fails to recognize the fundamental fact that it and AT&T together control 73 percent of all low-band spectrum, spectrum that is uniquely suited for wireless coverage in rural areas and in-building penetration alike,” he said. “To encourage competition in the marketplace, spur innovation and benefit consumers, the commission must work to prevent additional spectrum aggregation.” With the success of the AWS-3 auction, which raised enough to pay off FirstNet's start-up costs, “it is abundantly clear that carriers are hungry for additional spectrum,” he said. “The FCC must ensure that all carriers have the opportunity to walk away with a piece of the spectrum pie.” Andy Levin, T-Mobile US senior vice president-government affairs, said the FCC should consider the source of the complaint. "Those who live in spectrum warehouses shouldn’t throw stones," Levin said. "Verizon sat on the [700 MHz] A-block spectrum we bought from them for six whole years. When T-Mobile bought it, we immediately began building it out. We don’t warehouse spectrum, the big guys do. Verizon can try to make this about T-Mobile, but the incentive auction is really about the future of wireless competition, and dozens of consumer advocates and smaller carriers agree."