Will the FCC Exclude Bidders from the Upcoming Voluntary Incentive Auction?

April 4th, 2013 | Posted by Larry Spiwak in Federal Communications Commission | Incentive Auctions | Incumbent Exclusion Rules | Spectrum | Spectrum Caps | Spectrum Exhaust | Spectrum Screen | Wireless - (Comments Off)
Spectrum Caps 01

Last year, when Congress was debating the voluntary incentive auction provisions of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Jobs Creation Act, many argued—including FCC outgoing Chairman Julius Genachowski—that the Commission should have the authority to adopt auction participation rules so that it could prevent an “excessive concentration of licenses” under Section 309(j)(3)(B) of te Communications Act.  While Congress did not include any specific auction participation rules in the Middle Class Tax Relief and Jobs Creation Act, Section 6404 of the new legislation states that “Nothing … affects any authority the Commission has to adopt and enforce rules of general applicability, including rules concerning spectrum aggregation …
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Looking Ahead to 2013…

January 11th, 2013 | Posted by Larry Spiwak in Broadband | Federal Communications Commission | Incentive Auctions | IP Transition | Net Neutrality | Regulation - (1 Comments)

Over the course of the last several weeks, we at the Phoenix Center held Part I and Part II of our Annual U.S. Telecoms Symposium.  Part I, held on December 6th, focused on the impact of the recent election on U.S. broadband policy; while the more “wonky” Part II, held last week on January 3rd, focused on emerging issues in broadband policy for 2013.  As always, we had a fantastic array of speakers at both events, and the presentations were excellent.  While interested folks are welcome to watch the video of the full proceedings on-line (Part I may be viewed here; while Part II may …
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Susan Crawford and the Economics of the Wireless Industry…

August 10th, 2012 | Posted by Larry Spiwak in "Over the Top" Services | Federal Communications Commission | Incentive Auctions | Incumbent Exclusion Rules | Industry Structure and Market Performance | Law and Economics | Mobile Broadband | Net Neutrality | Regulation | Spectrum | Spectrum Caps | Spectrum Exhaust | Susan Crawford | Wireless - (Comments Off)

Last week, Professor Susan Crawford authored an op-ed entitled What’s Good for Verizon and AT&T Is Terrible for American Consumers.  While Professor Crawford’s emotional argument is a bit scattered, her depiction of an industry in transition provides a useful foundation for discussing the future of broadband in the United States. First, Professor Crawford argues that wireless broadband is a “commodity,” and one that consumers are increasingly using as a substitute for traditional “voice” and “texting” services.  This substitution is arguably true and, as such, we should therefore expect to see broadband providers increasingly employing and experimenting with a variety of pricing plans in an effort …
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What the United States Can Learn From OFCOM’s Olympic Spectrum Plan…

July 27th, 2012 | Posted by Larry Spiwak in Broadband Credibility Gap | Federal Communications Commission | Government Spectrum | Incentive Auctions | Incumbent Exclusion Rules | Mobile Broadband | Regulation | Spectrum | Spectrum Caps | Spectrum Exhaust | Wireless - (Comments Off)

With the Olympic Games opening tonight, it doesn’t take a PhD in electrical engineering to recognize that the broadband infrastructure in the United Kingdom will be stretched to its limits.  According to a recent article, in order to accommodate the huge spike in expected traffic, the Olympics network will span 30,000 connections across 94 locations and will include: 5,500 kilometres of new fiber optic cables; 2,200 switches; 1,800 wireless access points; 7,000 cable TV sockets; 16,500 telephones; and 65,000 active network ports (active connections). But with nearly a million people expected to attend the Games—nearly all of which will be calling, tweeting, photo sharing, updating …
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Senator Kohl, Wireless Economics and the “Public Interest” Standard…

May 31st, 2012 | Posted by Larry Spiwak in Congressional Oversight | Federal Communications Commission | Incentive Auctions | Incumbent Exclusion Rules | Industry Structure and Market Performance | Law and Economics | Merger Review | Regulation | Spectrum | Spectrum Caps | Spectrum Exhaust | Wireless - (Comments Off)

Last week, Senator Herb Kohl, the powerful Chairman of the Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights Sub-Committee of the Senate Judiciary Committee, wrote a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder and FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski informing them that he “believes” that the pending acquisition of unused spectrum by Verizon from a consortium of cable companies “presents serious competition concerns.”  In support of this position, Senator Kohl not only argues that there is excess concentration in the current wireless market (dominated by Verizon and AT&T), but that the transaction would allow a “dominant firm” to gain “access to essential inputs needed by a rival to compete.”  …
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Julius Genachowski’s Speech at CTIA…

May 22nd, 2012 | Posted by George Ford in Broadband Credibility Gap | Data Roaming | Federal Communications Commission | Incentive Auctions | Incumbent Exclusion Rules | Industry Structure and Market Performance | Interoperability | Law and Economics | Merger Review | Mobile Broadband | Net Neutrality | Regulation | Spectrum | Spectrum Caps | Spectrum Exhaust | Wireless - (Comments Off)

In his recent keynote speech at the CTIA show in New Orleans, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski reiterated his (and the industry’s) concern that the “demand for mobile services is on pace to exceed the capacity of our mobile networks” and, therefore, we must “tackle the capacity challenge.” The Chairman has previously foretold of a future where spectrum exhaust could make “consumers [...] face slower speeds, more dropped connections, and higher prices.” Plainly, spectrum exhaust remains a key challenge for both mobile service providers and policymakers. The Chairman also took the chance in his CTIA speech to challenge what we and others have said …
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Are Spectrum Caps Back?

February 28th, 2012 | Posted by Larry Spiwak in D Block | Federal Communications Commission | Incentive Auctions | Incumbent Exclusion Rules | Industry Structure and Market Performance | Mobile Broadband | Spectrum | Spectrum Caps | Spectrum Exhaust | Wireless - (Comments Off)

As the old saying goes, “be careful what you wish for.”  Well, in the case of spectrum policy, we got our wish this month when President Obama signed into law the Payroll Tax Extension bill which contained sweeping provisions to free up much-needed new commercial spectrum. While the implementation of the specific provisions of such ambitious legislation will no doubt be complex and arduous, I would like to touch on two general themes in this particular post. First, we at the Phoenix Center are very proud that our research helped contribute to get the D Block assigned to public safety so that our first responders …
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I Can “C” (Block) Clearly Now About Spectrum Auctions…

February 15th, 2012 | Posted by Larry Spiwak in Federal Communications Commission | Incentive Auctions | Incumbent Exclusion Rules | Mobile Broadband | Net Neutrality | Regulation | Spectrum | Spectrum Exhaust | Wireless - (Comments Off)

The FCC, in its National Broadband Plan, concluded that U.S. commercial mobile carriers desperately need more spectrum, describing an industry operating with “just a fraction of the amount that will be necessary to match growing demand.”  Echoing the concern, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski cautioned that “without action, demand for spectrum will soon outstrip supply. … If we don’t tackle the spectrum crunch now, network congestion will grow, and consumer frustration will grow with it.” In response, Congress is working on a partial solution to the impending shortfall, including authorizing the FCC to conduct an auction in which broadcasters voluntarily transfer their spectrum to broadband service …
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Wireless Competition Under Spectrum Exhaust (CliffsNotes Edition)…

February 8th, 2012 | Posted by George Ford in Federal Communications Commission | Incentive Auctions | Incumbent Exclusion Rules | Industry Structure and Market Performance | Regulation | Spectrum | Spectrum Exhaust | Wireless - (1 Comments)

As noted in our earlier blog posts, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski seems to be of two minds when it comes to spectrum policy.  On one hand, he has taken great pains throughout his tenure to warn about the crucial issue of spectrum exhaust for commercial spectrum.  As also noted in our earlier blog posts, the FCC under Chairman Genachowski has at the same time expressed grave concerns about the concentrated nature of the U.S. wireless market in its CMRS Reports and, as such, has condemned large transactions such as AT&T/T-Mobile and imposed a de facto spectrum cap when it approved the creation of the company …
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The Effect of Spectrum Exhaust on Mobile Market Structure and Performance…

February 2nd, 2012 | Posted by George Ford in Federal Communications Commission | Incentive Auctions | Incumbent Exclusion Rules | Industry Structure and Market Performance | Law and Economics | Mobile Broadband | Regulation | Spectrum | Spectrum Exhaust | Wireless - (Comments Off)

In an effort to address the current spectrum crunch for commercial spectrum, Congress is working on legislation to empower the FCC to hold voluntary incentive auctions to facilitate the transfer spectrum from broadcasters to mobile carriers.  FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, among others, are complaining loudly that the House version of the bill unduly constricts the FCC’s ability to manipulate the mobile industry by excluding some bidders from the auction (primarily the nation’s two most successful wireless firms that a little more than half of all Americans have chosen as their wireless carrier).  As Larry explained in a post dated January 17 and again in a …
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