Democratic Reps Advise FCC on New Designated Entities Rules

House Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone (D-NJ), and the five supporters of his bill, The Small Business Access to Spectrum Act, are sending a letter to the Federal Communications Commission telling it how they would like the commission to modify its Designated Entity rules for auction rules for spectrum auctions to insure access by small businesses. Those cosponsors are Reps Bobby Rush (D-IL), Yvette Clarke (D-NY), G.K. Butterfield (D-NC), Doris Matsui (D-CA) and Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM). In the letter, the legislators are pushing a two-pronged approach. First, they said, the FCC should curb "gaming" of the DE program by multibillion dollar corporations.

The FCC can do so, they say, by limiting the size of the small business credit that any one DE can receive and take "additional measures" to limit large corporations' use of the program. They say that will give small businesses a fair shot at spectrum without incentivizing large corporations to gain a bidding advantage "under the guise of being a small business." The second prong is to get rid of what they say are outdated requirements, including the attributable material relationship (AMR) rule, and liberalize policies on small businesses leasing opportunities. They also want the FCC to give DEs the ability to forego DE benefits on one license and still be eligible for them on others. "It is time to recognize that there may be other ways to enter and compete in the wireless marketplace," they said.