D.C. Memo: A Spectrum War Erupts in D.C.
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Spectrum: A war of words broke out yesterday over spectrum allocation policies likely to be issued by the FCC under Chairman Brendan Carr. CTIA – which represents AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile – supports an exclusive licensing regime while cable MVNOs Comcast and Charter prefer unlicensed airwaves to help build out their Wi-Fi facilities that are key to growing their consumer-facing mobile businesses in a cost-efficient manner. The CTIA-backed Spectrum for Broadband Competition (SBC) coalition announced a campaign called ‘End the Cableopoly,’ claiming that cable opposes exclusive spectrum licensing because Comcast and Charter are losing broadband subscribers to T-Mobile’s and Verizon’s fixed wireless Internet access service that depends on 5G spectrum exclusivity. The cable industry is attempting “to undermine competition from 5G home broadband by starving wireless providers of the spectrum needed to expand access and help close the digital divide,” the SBC said. NCTA – The Internet & Television Association issued via email one of its toughest statements in recent memory. “Big Mobile’s sham coalition is nothing more than a smokescreen to hide the fact that today’s wireless robber barons want to advance policies that will allow them to hoard more public spectrum for their exclusive use, denying access to other innovators and wrecking national security in the process,” the trade group for Comcast and Charter said. Comcast and Charter combined serve about 17.7 million mobile subscribers under network-sharing deals with Verizon. The FCC lost its legal authority to allocate spectrum via competitive bidding in March, 2023, but Congress could restore it in the pending reconciliation bill with instructions that the FCC raise about $60 billion in auction revenue over 10 years.
