FCC should create a 40 MHz reserve for 600 MHz auction, public interest groups urge

A coalition of public interest groups urged the Federal Communications Commission to adopt a spectrum reserve of at least 40 MHz for the 600 MHz incentive auction, one of several rule changes they are suggesting aimed at helping smaller carriers acquire spectrum.

In a letter to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler and his fellow commissioners, the groups said that the AWS-3 auction strengthened the position of AT&T and Verizon Wireless and that, now, smaller carriers need a leg up to compete. The groups also want the FCC to move quickly to free up the 3.5 GHz band for mobile broadband. The groups noted that the AWS-3 auction, which did not have any bidding restrictions, resulted in AT&T and Verizon securing 20 MHz of paired AWS-3 spectrum in most major markets, "and left the rest of the industry with only a smattering of paired blocks and 15 MHz of low-value, unpaired, uplink spectrum."

The groups writing to the FCC included the Open Technology Institute at the New America Foundation, Public Knowledge, National Hispanic Media Coalition, Engine, Center for Media Justice, Common Cause, the Writers Guild of America - West, the Institute for Local Self Reliance and the Benton Foundation.