D-Block dustup casts questions on Martin, Frontline, Cyren Call

A coalition of consumer and public-interest groups asked the Federal Communications Commission to probe the 700 MHz auction’s failure to attract a winning bidder for the national commercial-public safety D-Block license, an outcome of growing interest to Congress.
“In particular, PISC asks the commission to investigate carefully the allegations surrounding a purported meeting between Frontline [Wireless L.L.C.], its financial backers, and Morgan O’Brien of Cyren Call [Communications Corp.] that may have had the effect of preventing Frontline from attracting needed capital and discouraging other bidders,” stated the Public Interest Spectrum Coalition in a letter to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin.
PISC members include the Consumer Federation of America, Consumers Union, EDUCAUSE, Free Press, Media Access Project, National Hispanic Media Coalition, New America Foundation, Public Knowledge and U.S. Public Interest Research Group. The organizations also want the FCC to explore alternative uses of D-Block spectrum, such as fostering broadband competition and deployment.
The allegations regarding Cyren Call Chairman O’Brien and Frontline were made in some news reports, citing unnamed sources, as well as by Harold Feld, senior VP of Media Access Project, in a blog on the Web site Wetmachine. The Feld blog was posted the day before the Jan. 24 start date of the 700 MHz auction. Feld said his views do not necessarily reflect those of MAP.
Two weeks before the auction kicked off, Frontline Wireless L.L.C., a Silicon Valley-backed startup led by high-profile telecom policymakers that lobbied aggressively to compete for the D Block, shut down without explanation. Bidding on 700 MHz spectrum ended Wednesday, raising nearly $20 billion but also leaving the D Block stranded without a winner.
Looking into it
“I don’t think anybody at the commission had followed up yet on some of those concerns that have been raised,” the FCC’s Martin told reporters earlier this week. “I’ve seen some of the reports that have been in some of the blogs, but I haven’t had any discussions about it. But I think that the commission will be looking into it thoroughly and I think it will be part of the process of our discussion among the commissioners.”
The FCC this morning voted to “delink” the D Block from other 700 MHz spectrum blocks, an action that allows the agency to announce the identities of auction winners and to initiative a new rulemaking on the D Block.
Tim O’Regan, a spokesman for Cyren Call, said the company could not comment on the issue because the 700 MHz auction’s anti-collusion gag rule is still in effect. The same rule applies to now-defunct Frontline Wireless, whose former executives could not immediately be reached for comment. Harlin McEwen, chairman of the Public Safety Spectrum Trust, also said the gag rule precludes him from commenting.
The PSST is the public-safety broadband entity licensed by the FCC to partner with a commercial D-Block licensee. Cyren Call is PSST’s official advisor, and has been funding the public-safety trust with at least one loan financed by Cyren Call’s financial backers.
The D Block imbroglio has not escaped the attention of Congress.
Investigations ongoing
House telecom subcommittee Chairman Edward Markey (D-Mass.) said a hearing will be held on the abandoned D Block. Late last November, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, asked Martin to respond to a series of questions and produce documentation on, among other things, the relationship between PSST and Cyren Call. The FCC and the committee have declined to date to release Martin’s response to Waxman. However, a committee source said the panel is continuing its investigation into the matter.
“It is my hope that the commission quickly closes out the auction and makes public information about winning bidders before coordinating with Congress on developing a thoughtful plan to re-auction the D Block,” said House Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell (D-Mich.). “The construction of a nationwide, next-generation, interoperable broadband network for public safety is a crucial policy objective, and the need for such a network has not diminished.”