Following Sprint’s decision to skip next year’s 600MHz incentive auction, FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai had harsh words for the FCC’s plans.
“Sprint’s decision highlights the folly of the FCC’s attempt to pick winners and losers before the auction begins,” said Pai, in reference to the rules being assigned to the auction. “It also intensifies doubts about how competitive the bidding will be for set-aside spectrum and whether American taxpayers will receive fair compensation for that scarce public resource,” said Pai.
The FCC has agreed to set aside 30MHz of spectrum for smaller entities that market leaders AT&T and Verizon Wireless will not be allowed to bid on.
“Sprint’s announcement only strengthens my belief that the FCC should not have granted a spectrum giveaway in this auction or placed artificial limits on carriers’ participation.”
Pai is part of the Republican minority in the five-person FCC and is often at odds with his Democrat peers. The auction, scheduled to start in March 2016, will see television broadcasters sell their spectrum licenses to the government, which will in turn auction them off to wireless companies.
