WASHINGTON-The FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau said Thursday that it had turned down Qualcomm Inc.’s extension request to use the remaining 5 percent of its auction discount voucher.
“We do not agree with Qualcomm’s representation that it has had limited opportunity to use the ADV. In fact, Qualcomm’s own successful efforts-including using over 95 percent of the ADV-are evidence to the contrary. Since the Federal Communications Commission created the alternative use of the ADV, Qualcomm has had approximately 1.5 years to negotiate agreements with other licensees to use the ADV for obligations arising from winning bids in auctions 5, 10 and 11, and it has done so successfully as Qualcomm itself indicates. Thus, it appears that not using the ADV’s full amount during this period is not the result of ‘no suitable opportunity,’ but rather the result of Qualcomm’s business choices,” said John Muleta, chief of the FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau.
The FCC awarded Qualcomm a $125 million auction discount voucher in 2000 to satisfy an appeals court decision resulting from the loss of its pioneer’s preference. The commission originally gave Qualcomm three years to spend the money either directly or by designating a third party to use the ADV. The FCC then extended that deadline for a year.
“We note that Qualcomm represented in its first extension request that the one year it had requested would be sufficient to use the remainder of the ADV, and we saw no reason to disagree with their assertion. Qualcomm, however, has not provided any specific reason in its instant request why that representation proved to be incorrect. Given that we have granted one extension based on Qualcomm’s assurances that the additional time it had requested would be enough, we are disinclined to grant a further extension,” said Muleta.
Qualcomm said it disagreed with some portions of the bureau’s action but would not seek review from the full FCC. “We are pleased the FCC has given us additional time to use the remainder of the ADV, as we needed, although we disagree with some statements in the order. Nevertheless, we will proceed to try to use the remaining as quickly as possible,” said Dean Brenner, Qualcomm senior director of government affairs.
The FCC’s grant of the ADV ended an eight-year dispute between Qualcomm and the FCC. The commission in 1992 denied Qualcomm pioneer status, which would have allowed the company to obtain a preferential license for CDMA technology. Qualcomm subsequently challenged the decision. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ordered the FCC to designate Qualcomm a pioneer and quickly grant the company suitable spectrum comparable with the Miami major trading area license the FCC denied the company.
