Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST NEWS: Baer backs spectrum limits in auction of broadcast frequency providers, (Feb 3, 2016)
Organizations Mentioned:AT&T | Sprint Nextel Corp. | T-Mobile US | University of Colorado
By Brian Hammond,TR Daily
Bill Baer, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice Antitrust Division, said on February 1 that there should be a “market power screen” for the auction of broadcast incentive auction frequencies to prevent the largest wireless carriers from dominating the auction and keeping frequencies away from competitors.
Speaking at the Digital Broadband Migration conference held by the University of Colorado Law School’s Silicon Flatirons Center for Law, Technology, and Entrepreneurship, Baer noted that the Antitrust Division has been an “active participant” in the FCC’s proceeding, filing three comments on the issue in the rulemaking.
The Department of Justice urged the FCC to consider imposing spectrum caps, weights, or other measures to ensure that smaller wireless carriers are able to get access to spectrum—particularly frequencies below 1 gigahertz. The FCC adopted a spectrum reserve for the incentive auction to promote competition by entities with less low-band spectrum.
“In an area where a particular firm has the most spectrum, they have the incentive to pay the most and increase market power,” Baer said. “We ought not take a situation which may be problematic today and let the highest bidder make it worse.”
Baer also said it has been good for consumers that T-Mobile US, Inc., was not allowed to merge with AT&T, Inc., as proposed in 2011, or with Sprint Corp. and had to “go to Plan B.”
“It’s too bad that [AT&T-T-Mobile] deal ever got proposed,” he said. “Sellers are increasingly looking for reverse breakup fees because they want to be compensated for this period of time when they’re stuck in limbo.”
The antitrust chief said one of the “first things that happened to me” after taking his position was that Sprint officials came in to make the case for allowing a merger with T-Mobile to “create a stronger number three” in the wireless market. But “steeliness” at the FCC and Antitrust Division led them to abandon the idea, he said.
“So T-Mobile had to go to Plan B, and we’ve seen the benefits of that” with innovative new offerings, Baer said.
News: Antitrust AntitrustDivisionNews