The FCC has invited public comment on whether two Dish Network affiliates that won spectrum in the recent auction should receive US$3.3bn in small business discounts. While clarifying that Northstar Wireless and SNR Wireless had indeed completed…
The FCC has invited public comment on whether two Dish Network affiliates that won spectrum in the recent auction should receive US$3.3bn in small business discounts.
While clarifying that Northstar Wireless and SNR Wireless had indeed completed their applications, the FCC has opened them for public comment. This will allow any potential opponents to file petitions to deny discounts to the affiliates.
Roger Sherman, chief of the FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau [WTB], said in a blog post that the “story of this historic auction is still being written as we undertake our review of the long-form licence applications filed by the winning bidders”.
“We do not yet know if every winning bidder is qualified to receive licences and/or bidding credits, which is why the WTB is undertaking a thorough and comprehensive review of applications.”
Sherman stressed that the FCC’s notice stating the applications are complete and available for public review “does not opine on the merits of any of the applications, nor does it make a finding that any of the applicants who have requested small business bidding credits are eligible for – or will receive – them”.
Dish bought US$13.3bn worth of spectrum via Northstar and SNR, believing they qualified for a 25% discount aimed at small businesses.
The move prompted FCC commissioner Ajit Pai to call on the regulator to “reform its rules to stop abuse of the [designated entity (DE)] programme”.
Rival bidders Verizon Communications, AT&T and T-Mobile US have all expressed concern about the discounts provisionally slated for the Dish affiliates.
Meanwhile, Dish has insisted it followed the rules, and pointed to similar DE investment structures used by companies including AT&T and Verizon that have been approved in the past.
Senate committee expresses “collusion concern”
The Senate’s Commerce, Science and Transport Committee announced that chairman John Thune has requested documentation and other information from the FCC, Dish and the two affiliated companies in connection with their bids.
“The committee has significant questions about whether conduct surrounding the bidding strategies employed by Dish and two affiliates adhered to both the letter and intent of the law, since it may ultimately cost US$3bn in public funds,” Thune said in a statement.
He added that an investigation into how the Dish affiliates approached the auction is the only way to determine whether the price tag was warranted or “a result of wrongful conduct, flawed agency rules, or laws Congress must update”.
No resolution imminent
Acknowledging that the most challenging part of the FCC review process is just beginning, Sherman said “we have a long way to go in our review before we reach final conclusions on all of the applications”.
He described the applications seeking small business bidding discounts as the most complex, since they require detailed analyses of the applicants’ ownership and control structures.
The FCC has given opponents of the discounts until 11 May to submit petitions.
Meanwhile, Thune has asked the FCC, Dish, Northstar and SNR to respond to his letters by 15 May.
Earlier this month, the FCC voted to re-examine the rule for bidding discounts since it is set to conduct next year’s Broadband Incentive Auction, which is also expected to raise multiple billions of dollars.
