Special interests are making sure they’re heard about wireless’ final frontier
With the deadline fast approaching, special interests, carriers,
and ISPs -- both incumbent and prospective -- are scrambling to influence details
over the FCC’s high-stakes 700 MHz wireless auction, which is currently slated
for the end of January 2008.
A report recently
issued by the Center for Public Integrity takes a hard look over the lobbyists’
filed ex parte presentations, which
are required at the end of each meeting with FCC officials. Of more than 5,000 ex parte filings covering a broad range
of topics, more than 600 pertained to the 700 MHz auction – far more than any
other topic.
The meetings start slowly, with just under 20 ex parte presentations
filed in January. By April there were more than 100 filings, indicating that
there were at least three meetings with officials per day in that month. In
June, meetings peaked at 180, before settling down a bit to 150 meetings in
July, which was the last month that the analysis tracks. These numbers roughly
correlate with the FCC’s decisionmaking: lobbyists’ pressure peaked shortly
before FCC Chairman Kevin Martin signaled his intent to attach a controversial
open-access clause in early July, and continued through the month as Martin’s
rules were codified
by a commission vote on the 31st.
Google, who is relatively new to the political game, showed
a strong presence with 19 total meetings with the FCC, including 11 with
commissioners. However, Google’s efforts were eclipsed by Frontline Wireless’ 70
meetings and the wireless carrier’s lobbying firm, CTIA 43 meetings.
The 700 MHz spectrum is considered to be one of the last
frontiers in the wireless space, as the spectrum will be soon opened up as
analog television stations move over to digital broadcasting. The spectrum’s
value comes in its penetrability: unlike the open-access 2.4ghz range or the
range used by cell phone networks, the 700 MHz spectrum is far more capable of
penetrating walls and other obstacles.
With the FCC describing the spectrum as “beachfront
property,” its auction may fetch well over its $4.6 billion reserve, with some
forecasters are predicting numbers as high as $30 billion.
"You can bet that Sony built a long-term business plan about being successful in Japan and that business plan is crumbling." -- Peter Moore, 24 hours before his Microsoft resignation
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