WASHINGTON—A telecom watchdog group filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission and congressional committees alleging major mobile phone carriers and their small-business partners illegally pocketed billions of dollars of taxpayer money through deceptive auction practices during past auctions.
Teletruth, a nationwide, independent customer alliance and a former member of the FCC Consumer Advisory Committee (2003-2004), said lax FCC and Justice Department enforcement of auction rules puts the upcoming advanced wireless services auction in jeopardy.
“Teletruth believes that the [designated entity] status of the large phone companies saved them approximately $8 billion when comparing the discounted prices versus the retail prices they would have paid had they not received the discounts. Obviously, an investigation is needed to determine the exact amount,” the group said. Teletruth’s $8 billion estimate covers multiple auctions. “Our request for legal action is aimed at ending this refusal to enforce the law. America has been robbed. Its treasury has been robbed of billions of dollars, and its market has been robbed of competition.”
The Teletruth complaint, which includes allegations similar to those included in a lawsuit filed against Wall Street investor Mario Gabelli, could further muddy waters in advance of the scheduled June 29 start of the AWS auction.
A health-related suit pending in a federal appeals court in New York is seeking to block the AWS auction until an environmental impact statement—as required by the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969—is conducted to assess possible health risks from handsets and base stations that will operate on 1,122 AWS licenses in the 1710-1755 MHz and 2110-2155 MHz bands.
Meantime, several groups unhappy with new FCC small-business bidding rules have signaled they may go to court to halt the start of the AWS auction.
