WASHINGTON-Congressional auditors said that a plan by the Federal Communications Commission to solve public-safety interference in the 800 MHz did not violate either the Antideficiency Act or the Miscellaneous Receipts Act. The ruling essentially negates warnings from Verizon Corp. that individual FCC commissioners would be breaking the law if they agreed to reband spectrum at 800 MHz.
“Our opinion is limited to the specific legal questions presented in connection with the Antideficiency Act and Miscellaneous Receipts Act. It is not an endorsement of the FCC’s resolution of the policy, economic, practical, procedural, or other considerations associated with the problem of interference with public-safety communications in the 800 MHz band. In this regard, we are mindful that although we do not find the rules violate the Antideficiency Act or the Miscellaneous Receipts Act, and some of the elements can be found in prior commission actions upheld by the courts, the rules reflect an expanded use of the FCC’s authority for which there is no exact precedent,” said Anthony Gamboa, general counsel of the Government Accountability Office.
Verizon, parent of Verizon Wireless, had warned that commissioners could be held individually liable for violating the ADA and MRA. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, Democrat from New Jersey where Verizon’s headquarters are based, asked the GAO to determine whether the plan would violate either the ADA or the MRA.
The GAO said because the FCC will require Nextel Communications Inc. to make up the difference between the spectrum it returns and relocation expenses if these do not equal at least $4.8 billion, the commission did not violate the ADA. Because the Communications Act does not specifically address the issues involved in the 800 MHz rebanding, the GAO deferred to the FCC on the MRA.
The FCC was pleased with the GAO’s ruling.
“The GAO independently confirmed that the commission’s authority to regulate spectrum in the public interest is broad enough to include the tools we utilized to resolve this critical public-safety matter,” said FCC Chairman Michael Powell. “GAO’s decision provides further impetus to the entire industry to work with the FCC as we implement our plan to improve communications for public safety and emergency responders.”
Congressional auditors did note that billions of dollars could be lost by not auctioning the G-band.
“We are sensitive to financial issues associated with the FCC’s exercise of its authority under the Communications Act. We do not take lightly concerns that the commission’s action will result in the government not receiving billions of dollars that otherwise might be realized if the FCC exercised its authority to auction the spectrum in the 1.9 GHz band,” added Gamboa.
