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Google wins partial victory in FCC ruling
Newsbytes News Network - August 1, 2007
Aug 01, 2007 (TechNews via COMTEX) -- After fits and starts, the Federal
Communications Commission on Tuesday handed a partial victory to Google
in the latter's bid to ensure open access to 700 MHz band that is to be
auctioned to cell phone service providers.
The 700-megahertz wireless band has been seen by some analysts as the
last chance for new players in the cell phone market. The band is being
made available because the television broadcasters who currently occupy
the range are moving to digital television transmission in February 2009.
Google had announced previously that it was willing to bid at least $4.6
billion in the upcoming 700 MHz auction, but only if certain conditions
requiring open access were placed on the spectrum.
Specifically, Google called for four changes in requirements for the band:
Consumers should be able to utilize a handheld communications device
with whatever wireless network they prefer;
Third parties (resellers) should be able to acquire wireless services
from a 700 MHz licensee on a wholesale basis, based on reasonably
nondiscriminatory commercial terms; and
Critics, including CTIA, the organization that represents the
international wireless telecommunications industry, have charged that
Google is actually more interested in securing open-access requirements
on the spectrum than in actually winning the license itself.
"If Google is willing to commit almost $5 billion for spectrum that it
wants encumbered with various requirements, then let it win that
spectrum in a competitive auction and choose that business model," reads
a letter the CTIA sent to the FCC. "Google and its allies, with their
collective market capitalization approaching half a trillion dollars,
don't need a government handout at taxpayers' expense. The competitive
wireless industry welcomes all new entrants, but no company should be
able to buy a custom-fit government regulation that suits their
particular business plan. Consumers should decide if they're right, not
the federal government."
Under the rules released by the FCC on Tuesday, however, Google was
largely victorious. Under the ruling, consumers will be able to use
whatever phone and software they want on networks using a portion of the
spectrum to be auctioned.
At the same time, the FCC did not approve one of Google's requirements:
a provision that would have required the winner of the auction to sell
access to its network on a wholesale basis to other companies.
The FCC ruling also reserves a portion of the band for to be used by
public safety agencies for broadband communications. An additional
portion of the spectrum will be reserved for "public safety/private
partnership." Under the ruling, the commercial licensee who wins the
auction will build out a nationwide, interoperable broadband network for
the use of public safety. In an emergency, the public safety agencies
will have priority access to that portion of the band.
The FCC's ruling is a sign of "real progress," according to Richard
Whitt, Google's Washington telecom and media counsel. "By the same
token, it would have a more complete victory for consumers had the FCC
adopted all four of the license conditions that we advocated, in order
to pave the way for the real 'third pipe' broadband competition that FCC
Chairman Kevin Martin has been touting."
As for whether Google will actually submit a bid for the spectrum,
according to Whitt, "we will need time to carefully study the actual
text of the FCC's rules, due out in a few weeks, before we can make any
definitive decisions about our possible participation in the auction."
URL:
http://www.gcn.com
Received on Sat Mar 02 2024 - 00:57:25 CST