Spectrum is the engine of the mobile wireless industry. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regularly runs auctions so carriers can retool with additional spectrum. The exclusive right to use segments of the electromagnetic spectrum can be very costly, particularly since the bidding is done for specific frequencies in specific locales. To illustrate the complexity, Carrier […]
auctions
Chasing Wi-Fi Speed, Coverage, and Compatibility
The GSM association reports that 4.7 billion subscribers used mobile wireless during 2015 and 1 billion used the high speed 4G mobile wireless technology. Video is soaking up whatever spectrum capacity operators make available, and the demand for bandwidth will continue growing. With 5G technology still under development and years away from widespread deployment, mobile […]
ACI in Forbes: The Spectrum Shortage Is Coming
The booming demand for wireless services continues to be big news and it should be. A recent report estimates 2014 total wireless subscriber connections to have topped 355 million, along with nearly 2 trillion text messages and more than 4 trillion megabits of wireless data traffic. The brisk rise in smartphone users, increase in video streaming and […]
DOJ’s Twisted Logic: Rigging Auctions Promotes Competition
It is with total disbelief that I write about a recent letter from the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on the rules for the upcoming “competitive” Spectrum auction. In the letter, the DOJ – the United States’ chief antitrust and law enforcement agency – writes in support of […]
ACI in Real Clear Policy
As wireless broadband grow continues to outpace the spectrum available, there are risks of congestion and poorer service. The FCC, Congress and the President have pledged to get more spectrum online as soon as possible. This article, written by Alan Daley discusses an easy source of Wi-Fi spectrum.
Consumers Pay for FCC Arrogance
In an auction of underused TV spectrum coming next spring, the FCC was tasked by Congress to repurpose TV channels into wireless broadband so that consumers’ voracious demand can be satisfied while prices are kept at affordable levels. The FCC’s auction is supposed to accomplish five things at once: first, encourage mobile wireless service operators […]
ACI in the Hill’s Congressional Blog: Time for the FCC to Reconsider
This piece, published in the Hill’s Congressional Blog by ACI’s president, Steve Pociask, discusses how the FCC’s restrictive wireless auction rules — rules that favor some bidders over others — is a recipe for failure. The article shows that the auction rules will limit the proceeds, which in encourage fewer TV broadcasters to give up their spectrum. That, […]
FCC Needs to End Bias Spectrum Bidding Rules
Bidding Restrictions Could Lower Consumer Welfare by $230 Billion To deal with the looming spectrum crunch, Congress passed the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, which would, through reverse auctions, compensate TV stations for giving up broadcast airwaves and, through forward auctions, allow wireless service providers to repurpose the spectrum […]
ACI in Real Clear Policy: Corporate Welfare in Spectrum Auctions
According to numerous reports in mid-April, the FCC has plans to earmark large pieces of auctioned wireless spectrum for certain carriers. The move is a contrast to the FCC’s original plan to offer spectrum up for competitive bidding and has many wondering if the FCC and Chairman Tom Wheeler are in the business of picking […]
ACI in The Hill’s Congress Blog: Spectrum Bailout is Regulatory Malpractice
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) appears to have decided that the upcoming broadband spectrum auctions should favor some competitors over others. To accomplish this, the FCC will set some revenue targets that, if met, would exclude bidding by AT&T and Verizon Communications, as well as potentially shutting out bidding by several regional carriers, such as […]