July 29, 2008
Rural carriers want limits on spectrum holdings
We watched in horror as the FCC presided over the monopoly telcos grabbing most of the 700 MHz spectrum much like a couple of mafia dons dividing turf. The FCC did nothing to limit spectrum holdings by a single party. Add to the mix a clueless Congress that is unwilling or incapable of directing the agency, and you have a completely disfuntional wireless broadband market that promises to be underpowered and overpriced. At least a group of rural carriers is standing up and crying foul.
An advocacy group representing smaller, rural wireless carriers is petitioning the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to reinstate limits on the amount of spectrum a carrier can own — a move that it believes could stop the nation’s largest wireless companies from grabbing an unfair share.
The Rural Telecommunications Group (RTG) said its members’ networks could be in jeopardy if what it sees as a “duopoloy” in spectrum ownership comes into play, following recent spectrum acquisitions by wireless market leaders AT&T (NYSE: T) and Verizon Wireless, a venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) and Vodafone Group (NYSE: VOD).
“As more consolidations are taking place, more spectrum is ending up with the big players,” Carri Bennet, RTG’s general counsel, told InternetNews.com. “The rural carriers need access to spectrum.”
The group wants a cap of 110 MHz on the amount of spectrum a carrier can hold below the 2.3 GHz band within a county.(Internet News)
Filed under Duopoly Follies, Rural, Spectrum Auctions by admin
Comments on Rural carriers want limits on spectrum holdings »
Well I guess I will make a similar comment here that I have made to many on our current financial situation. Congress should not permit corporate presence to get so big.
In the financial sector a good chunk of the problem is certain finanical institutions have gotten too big to be permitted to fail. That is wrong headed. Congress should not have permitted the consolidations to occur. Had there been caps on % of holdings in certain instruments some of this could have been avoided.
The same goes in the communications sector. The Verizons and AT&T should be held to smaller holdings. Is the Rural groups approach the right one? It might be. Or maybe it is a matter of bandwidth density per county. In a place like Dallas 110Mhz per provider would be a drop in the bucket. But I’ll tell ya this — the economy of scale argument has failed since 2004. Many of these companies are now so large the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing.
Agreed Dr. I might go a little further. Corporate giants don’t get that way from lack of government intervention. Rather they get that way with a bunch of government help. Economy of scale is meaningless in a non - competitive environment. I think I’d go for more of a percentage basis on spectrum. IE: no carrier can control more than say 15% of the bandwidth in a market. If you want the big 700 MHz band, you’ve got to divest form the PCS band. If they need more, they’ll need to make wholesale arrangements.