More on low band spectrum debate

[Commentary] As the debate about auction limitations and restrictions rages on, one new argument is particularly notable. The Competitive Carriers Association has for months sought low band restrictions or limits in the auction.

CCA has long argued that AT&T and Verizon have somehow foreclosed their members from access to low band spectrum (a notion that I debunked in a blog some months ago). Therefore, CCA has argued, there should be low band limits that restrict AT&T and Verizon in the 600 MHz auction while their members have free reign.

The FCC has now proposed a set of restrictions that basically gives CCA exactly what it has demanded -- it is proposing to restrict a carrier’s participation in the 600 MHz auction based on the amount of low band spectrum it holds in its portfolio.

One would think CCA would be cheering from the stands, but they are not. Why? Because the FCC’s proposal has finally forced CCA to acknowledge that there are “multiple examples” “throughout the country” of incidences where their members already have a significant portfolio of low band spectrum. Those members would therefore be restricted under the FCC’s current proposal.