Earlier today, I watched the Energy and Commerce hearing on the Oversight of the Federal Communications Commission – the 700 MHz Auction. It was long. I tried to link to prepared speeches when I could and otherwise keep my observations at a very high level. But this is still a long post but I hope this will help you either find the video or save you from having to watch it. If you do watch – fast forward to the last 20 minutes for the exciting part where Dingell grills the Cyren Call folks.
The folks who spoke first were generally not for a new auction – at least not in the model of the last public safety auction.
People clearly felt duped by Google, feeling that Google got what they wanted with the open access and therefore did not need to put their money where their mouth is.
Public safety needs to be the top concern – followed by maximizing competition and maximizing revenue.
I have to give a nod to my new favorite Committee member (Mr Doyle from Pennsylvania) who quoted The Who twice saying we should “meet the new (wired) boss, it’s the same as the old boss” and that we “won’t get fooled again.” I’m easy one quote from The Who gets you to the top of my list – especially as I listen to a pretty dry hearing.
You can see the speeches of panelists here:
From the FCC members:
The Honorable Kevin J. Martin – did a myth buster talk. The point I thought was most interesting was that we don’t have the funds for the public safety net. So, a public-private partnership is necessary.
The Honorable Michael J. Copps – not necessarily a huge fan of the public-private partnership but recognizes that this is the best last hope. But we need to get as many ducks in a row as possible. Was sad that more new bidders weren’t brought out by the auction.
The Honorable Deborah Taylor Tate – regional carriers had a decent showing in the auction. Open access, which allows mobile broadband is a big deal.
The Honorable Jonathan S. Adelstein – unfortunately the auction has not opened the door to a third channel broadband provider and we may live to truly regret that. Women and minority owners were virtually shut out of the auction. Lack of diversity leads to lack of creativity.
The Honorable Robert M. McDowell – sad we didn’t get a third channel broadband provider. Didn’t support open access, because the market was going that way and didn’t think that clause would attract more bidders. Sadly he was right.
Questions
Q Do we need a regional focus?
Most said yes – they were open to considering all options
Q What should we do to encourage safety and competition?
Have wholesale requirements
Have caps
Need to get better data
Public safety needs to be part of the discussion
Q Can the FCC mandate interoperability if we went with a more regional approach?
Yes, but there are concerns for managing that.
There were no women owned businesses that won auctions – but that it self supported so that data is not assured.
Q Do you feel that Google helped or hindered the auction?
Most seemed to feel that it hurt – but that they might still go with the open access requirement again.
Q Would you support selling the D block for commercial purposes and using the funds to build a safety net.
Need to get Public Safety in and make sure that the auction will garner enough money. Or maybe the Congress could allocate the funds needed.
Q Would you support a public-private partnership?
Yes.
Q How can an outside consultant manage such a partnership as suggested?
Lots of moving away from that idea – eventually saying it should be a nonprofit role.
Q/A Discussion on the fact that the Congress should have just set up a way to fund a safety net. The FCC doesn’t have the power so they are being asked to construct a partnership that would build the safety net but perhaps is not the best way to do it. Being nonprofit however does not mean that someone should not be compensated.
Whatever that role, transparency is necessary.
Q Why did Martin say he’d turn down the Skype petition?
Because there is movement in the 700 spectrum and so the movement will come but to encourage it now would be unfair to the bidders on the C block where interoperability was part of the deal.
We may need to keep an eye on this and if dismissed, it will be dismissed without prejudice.
Q How can you encourage broadband growth and have caps?
Use caps to encourage diversity in the market.
Q/A There was a discussion on wireless phone service and roaming charges. (I kind of tuned out since it didn’t really relate to broadband.)
The FCC strives for greater diversity than the results of the auction as-was. Maybe we should consider that in terms in the auctions – without trying to step in too much. The FCC can look further into the situation to make sure that there aren’t any monopolies and do anti-trust analysis.
Q The Safety Net build out is 99.3 percent of the population. Is that reasonable? Is that expectation too high? Should the FCC be evaluating the cost and estimate? Or will the FCC be doing an analysis.
Q How will the FCC (and public weigh in) on the open appliances segment of the auction?
Verizon is working on a process. We need to talk to them and other market leaders on what they are doing and how it fits.
Other testifiers:
Mr. Harlin R. McEwen, Chairman and CEO, Public Safety Spectrum Trust – New York City Police Department, Communications Division – The PSST will work with the FCC to ensure that a new auction succeeds. We will work with the auction winner. One big problem is that the PSST does not have the funding needed.
Rear Admiral Robert F. Duncan, U.S. Coast Guard (Ret.), Senior Vice President – Safety workers are not as prepared (technology-wise) as our typical college students and we need to fix that. We don’t know who are parents will be in the times of disaster – but we need to be prepared to work with them.
Mr. Morgan E. O’Brien, Chairman, Cyren Call Communications Corporation – Cyren Call has been talking to people for 2 years about this. There is a business case for a public-private partnership here. The relationship between the PSST, the FCC, and the bidders needs to be clarified.
Deputy Chief Charles Dowd – We need to focus on communication at the local level – since the national level auction didn’t work out. In fact the FCC should consider a regional approach for the auction. Many cities have already started projects – we need to encourage local decision-making. (So they can use the spectrum for the safety net or sell their option.)
Mr. Steven E. Zipperstein, Vice President and General Counsel, Verizon Wireless – If we don’t stay ahead of the curve we’ll lose customers. LTE (long term evolution) will help us take advantage of the spectrum.
Mr. Robert J. Irving, Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Leap Wireless International, Inc. – The launched wireless markets with spectrum through the AWS. We want to serve more spectrums. The largest carriers are threatening our ability to compete. The FCC needs to do more to promote diverse competition.
Mr. Harold Feld, Senior Vice President, Media Access Project – represents people such as Free Press. The problem with the auction was that is was all about “show us the money.” We need to look at more – such as granted the Skype petition.
Coleman Bazelon, Ph.D., Principal, The Brattle Group – The auction could have earned more money if C Block licenses had been smaller. As large as it was, it was only an answer for incumbents.
Questions
Q Can a new non-incumbent provider come in to build a new network?
Probably not. The cost is too high.
Should/could we look at a regional approach?
Yes. We have an opportunity to build in the interoperability option. Previously the spectrum was too randomly assigned/built.
No a regional approach will lead to disparities.
Q Dead zones frustrate drivers. What can the providers do to let car drivers talk through tunnel? And if they can’t solve it should they be involved with a safety net?
The incumbents need to be able to work with civic engineers.
Q/A More debate on whether the FCC should auction the D block for profit to build the safety net. The cost for safety net was discussed. Maybe we need to improve what we have.
Q How much spectrum need for public safety?
Some think that there is enough spectrum already.
Q What happened with Cyren Call?
PSST asked Cyren Call to get involved. They met a lot. But no real info was given.
There were about 6 companies that expressed an interest in the Block D; but no agreements in place. Now we are trying to reach out to potential partners.
Leaving the safety net to the private sector will not get us the network we need to protect our country.
Q/A Mr Dingell from Michigan ran PSST and Cyren Call through the ringer about their relationship and the impact on the auction. Apparently Cyren Call is giving PSST a loan to keep afloat. That funding comes from Venture Capitalists. PSST is paying Cyren Call for consulting. For this money they are talking to businesses about the auction.