WASHINGTON—The nation’s largest mobile-phone carriers asked the Federal Communications Commission to turn back an effort to have telecom regulators set aside and reconsider changes to small-business—or designated entity—bidding rules in advance of the June 29 start of the advanced wireless services auction.
“The commission recently amended the designated-entity rules in an effort to improve the legitimacy of the DE process and to reduce the risk of fraud and abuse. In seeking to disrupt the auction schedule and the purposes of new DE rules, the joint petitioners fail to satisfy each of the four prongs necessary to issue a stay,” stated CTIA, a national cell-phone association, in a filing delivered to the FCC last night.
A week ago Council Tree Communications Inc., Minority Media and Telecommunications Council and Bethel Native Corp. filed a motion for expedited stay of Auction 66 pending FCC reconsideration or judicial review. The three groups said changes to DE rules approved April 25 by the FCC were not anticipated and would hurt small businesses’ ability to secure financing for the AWS auction without limiting the ability of large cellular carriers to partner with small business applicants.
AWS short-form applications were filed Wednesday at the FCC. Upfront payments for prospective AWS bidders are due June 1.
