I haven’t been following the big mergers much – but I thought that this perspective was interesting. I’m not necessarily advocating their perspective. I don’t’ really know how long it should take to approve a merger; though I know if you want something to fly under the radar take action on a holiday or a day when you know there will be other big news. As I said, I just found it interesting.
Congressional Probe Sought About Fairness of FCC’s Election Day Wireless Merger Plan
North Aurora, IL (Oct. 24, 2008) – Congress should investigate why the Federal Communications Commission scheduled its vote on two wireless mega-mergers on Election Day Nov. 4, according to a filing to the FCC by an industry group raising questions about the Commission’s track record of fairness.
The FCC’s announcement Oct. 15 of its vote on the two mergers (among a total of seven items) illustrates the deep flaws in the FCC’s fast-track review process said PART-15.ORG, which represents Wireless Internet Service Providers (WISPs) world-wide. One deal is to combine the broadband wireless assets of competitors Sprint Nextel Corp. and Clearwire Corp. into a nationwide carrier. The other is to approve Verizon’s acquisition of Alltel Corp., thereby creating the largest U.S. mobile carrier.
“Review of such major transactions when the nation and its watchdog institutions are preoccupied with a Presidential election is unprecedented and unjustified,” said the filing by PART-15.ORG, which plans to submit its comments this morning as part of the FCC’s review of the Sprint/Clearwire deal. The submission will be jointly with its member PDQLink, a WISP based in North Aurora, IL.
“These kinds of historic transformations of the U.S. competitive landscape do not have to be completed on short notice and on Election Day,” said PART-15.ORG Chairman Michael R. Anderson, who is CIO of PDQ Link and who filed its 20-page Petition to Deny the deal on Sept. 30. “Like the Wall Street bailout, this smacks of closed-door, special help for the most powerful,” he said, continuing:
The public needs assurance of accountability. Congress, the news media and so-called public interest groups should review this proceeding in depth, although that’s understandably difficult right now when many of them are preoccupied with the federal elections or concerned about the Commission’s vast authority in related areas.
The public hears lots of rhetoric about the need to expand the country’s broadband capabilities, or to reform Washington decision-making. This proceeding can help achieve each of those goals – but not if the country’s most powerful communications lobbyists secure their objectives when watchdogs are distracted or intimidated.
About PART-15.ORG
PART-15.ORG (http://www.part-15.ORG.) was organized in 2002 to advance the license-free sector of broadband wireless. Past and future public comments on the Sprint/Clearwire deal are on the PART-15.ORG’s website: http://www.part-15.org as well as the FCC’s website: http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov//prod/ecfs/comsrch_v2.cgi (WT Docket No. 08-94). See also, http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/retrieve.cgi?native_or_pdf=pdf&id_document=6520173082.
About PDQLink
PDQLink (www.pdqlink) began services in North Aurora, IL in 1995 as one of the pioneering WISPs in the U.S. Seeing a need for group education and action, its CIO organized the first WISP-only trade association, and expanded its activities to include conventions and partnerships with more broadly based associations. He served as a member of the Advisory Board of the FCC’s Hurricane Katrina Independent Panel, making a number of recommendations to foster better emergency communications in disaster regions (http://www.fcc.gov/pshs/advisory/hkip).