Not long ago, T-Mobile’s head of Federal Regulatory Affairs, spoke up regarding the unfair method used to auction off low band spectrum. The issue is that, as it stands, the FCC likes to sell off large chunks of spectrum covering wide areas. This suits the big guys fine, but for anyone who isn’t Verizon or AT&T, it’s a pain in the backside – to put it mildly.

As a follow-up, Magenta has teamed with Sprint, Dish, C Spire – and other organizations like the Competitive Carriers Association and Public Knowledge – to lobby the FCC to adopt a rules change. The upcoming 600MHz auctions are of high importance to many carriers, but as it stands now, only Verizon and AT&T will get a workable amount of the available spectrum, and the already have plenty of low-band.

“We are a group of wireless carriers, industry associations, public interest organizations, and a labor union that recognize the fundamental importance of spectrum holdings policies to maintaining a competitive mobile wireless market. Two carriers currently control over two thirds of critical low-frequency spectrum,1 and they have both the resources and the incentive to prevent competitors from gaining access to this vital resource in the upcoming incentive auction.”

Outlined in the filing are various principles which focus on the need for aggregation limits on spectrum below 1GHz. It also touches on the need for clear limits to be put in place before the incentive auctions, the need to address the state of the market and a weighting policy for all spectrum henceforth.

In short, the smaller carriers who want to be able to get their hands on lower frequency airwaves to improve their networks, want better and fairer conditions to do so. They, and a number of companies who stand for a fair and competitive market, are pleading for things to change. Let’s hope it’s successful.

It’s broken down simply in to 4 subjects and is well worth your read if you have the time. It’s submitted and signed by T-Mobile’s SVP of Federal Regulatory Affairs, Kathleen O’Brien Ham, as well as Jeffrey Blum (SVP, Dish Network Corporation), Eric B. Graham (SVP, C Spire Wireless), Caressa D. Bennet (General Counsel, Rural Wireless Association), Lawrence Krevor (VP Legal, Sprint), Cathy Sloan (VP, Computer and Communications Industry Association), Rebecca Murphy Thompson (General Counsel, Competitive Carrier Association), Ellen Stutzman (Writers Guild of America), Harold Feld (SVP, Public Knowledge), Jill Canfield (General Counsel, NTCA) and Matthew Wood (Free Press).

Source: FCC
Via: WirelessWeek