Martin: 700 MHz show will go on

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin said Wall Street woes and recession fears could affect the 700 MHz auction and tacitly conceded disappointment that Frontline Wireless L.L.C. will not be around to compete, but nonetheless expressed optimism that a bidder will emerge to win a national public safety-commercial wireless license.
“Sure, I’m concerned that the overall economic conditions could end up impacting the auction,” Martin told reporters. “Is it an ideal time to necessarily to conduct an auction? I’m not sure.” Martin pointed out that the FCC is bound by law to go forward with the auction, which is set to begin Jan. 24. Early on, congressional budget experts estimated the 700 MHz auction could generate more than $12 billion for the U.S. Treasury. It is unclear whether economic troubles will force auction revenues downward.
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In addition to highlighting the 700 MHz auction and digital TV transition as short-term priorities for the FCC, Martin also used Tuesday’s news briefing to counter a Wall Street Journal editorial that accused him of tailoring the public safety-commercial licensee – the D Block – to a politically connected startup (Frontline) that recently folded after a year of lobbying for 700 MHz rules and soliciting funding for the ambitious wireless business venture.
“None of the rules that we adopted for any aspect of the spectrum was put in place to facilitate entry by any particular company,” Martin stated. “The D-Block rules that were put in place were done to try to address the concerns that public safety had about having the resources to build out a network with the spectrum that they were going to be getting as a result of the DTV transition. We’ve seen increasingly over the last few years the problem that public safety has raised with interoperability, the ability of local police and local fire departments to be able to communicate back and forth.”
Martin noted that the FCC rejected Frontline’s push for a D Block wholesale mandate. The FCC chief said the 700 MHz auction provides the wireless industry an opportunity to create new competition in a broadband market dominated by landline telephone companies and cable TV operators.
In other matters, Martin said he plans this year to hold a hearing on early termination fees charged by wireless and other communications sectors and that the next round of testing of unlicensed wireless devices in TV white spaces could be officially announced this week.