Lawmakers worry over fate of 700 MHz D Block

A top member of the House Homeland Security Committee advised Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin not to scrap plans to auction the 700 MHz national commercial-public safety license, despite the possibility no applicant will bid on the D Block now that the one-time pursuer of that spectrum — Frontline Wireless L.L.C. — has folded.
“Regardless of the prospects for this partnership, the policy goals it represents are fundamentally sound,” stated Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Homeland Security subcommittee on intelligence, information sharing and terrorism risk assessment, in a letter to Martin. “I strongly urge you — in advance of this auction’s start date of Jan. 24. — not to amend any of the underlying rules, modify the terms of the partnership, or indicate any change to the FCC’s intent to vigorously oversee it.”
Click here for complete 700 MHz auction coverage.
Frontline, a Silicon Valley-backed startup headed by former telecom policymakers, shut down after failing to make the $128 million upfront payment on Jan. 4 for the D-Block license. The license has a $1.3 billion reserve price.
Frontline had aggressively lobbied during the past nine months for public-private 700 MHz D Block rules, some of which it obtained. Ever since its closing became public, public-safety organizationshave been skittish about the prospects that a D Block bidder will emerge.
Martin said he was disappointed Frontline will not be competing in the 700 MHz auction, but remains hopeful a bidder will pick up the D Block license.
Harman said “[a]ny mid-course correction could be perceived as a ‘sweetheart deal’ favoring a small number of companies.” She told Martin the FCC should consider changes to the D-Block license only in the event it does not sell. “The opportunity to create a nationwide broadband network for public safety with the cooperation of the private sector should not end with this auction.”
In a separate letter to House telecom subcommittee Chairman Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and ranking member Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.), Harman notified the lawmakers of her letter to Martin and acknowledged the combination of Frontline Wireless’ collapse and troubled credit markets make the “possibility of its [700 MHz D Block] failure real.”