WASHINGTON-Apparently not able to get a majority of the commission to agree with him, Federal Communications Commission Chairman William Kennard has directed staff to release proposed rules that would allow large carriers to bid on some of the spectrum scheduled to be re-auctioned in July.
Personal communications services rules set aside two blocks of spectrum for small businesses and minorities in an attempt to help these designated entities enter the wireless industry. However, a move is underway to relax those restrictions in some markets, including New York.
The move toward a formal rule-making process likely will mean the July 26 date will slip.
The FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, with the apparent blessing of Kennard, has been briefing and lobbying commissioners for weeks on a proposal that would allow large companies to bid on spectrum in markets with more than 2 million people.
DEs have balked, saying the spectrum scheduled to be re-auctioned was set aside for their use and should remain solely for their use.
The NPRM, which is expected to be released by the end of the month, could give clues about how willing the commission is to opening the re-auction to larger companies.
“We would welcome” a notice of proposed rule making, said Brent Weingardt, vice president for government relations for the Personal Communications Industry Association. “Based on our discussions with commissioners, there are a lot of questions that have not been thrashed out yet as to the unintended consequences of changing the eligibility rules.”
The NPRM is expected to be targeted, but not specific. For example, it could say large companies should be able to bid on some markets, but then ask the industry to identify population parameters.
The FCC would not confirm the NPRM, but said it is a possibility.
Sprint PCS, which had urged the FCC to split the 30-megahertz blocks into three blocks of 10-megahertz, did not quibble with the idea of a rule-making, but said it hoped for a targeted item so there would not be a lot of duplication of comments already filed.
PCS licenses are set to be re-auctioned in July. Originally, the FCC awarded most of the licenses to NextWave Telecom Inc., but canceled them when bankrupt NextWave failed to make installment payments on the licenses. NextWave believes it still owns the licenses and is appealing the FCC’s decision. The re-auction also includes other licenses that have not been awarded and could include licenses of other bankrupt C-block companies.
