Verizon Wireless Gets Tip of the Hat from FCC for Silencing Competitor T-Mobile in Deals with Comca

July 1, 2012 - PRLog -- NEW YORK (July 1, 2012) -- As cable giant Comcast agrees to settle charges with the FCC for violating the terms of its merger with NBC-Universal, Verizon Wireless gets a tip of the hat from the commission for agreeing to sell portions of  regulated spectrum licenses to its spectrum-desperate competitor T-Mobile in exchange for an estimated $260 million in cash.

FCC.com has released its examination of competition in the broader wireless industry, concluding that in the near future, current trends will place Verizon Wireless in a dangerous category akin to major companies in the financial services industry: too big to fail.

Focusing on the controversy surrounding Verizon Wireless' proposed spectrum swaps, http://www.FCC.com exposes the danger of approving such deals without conducting full and complete analyses of the competitive implications.

According to the report, evidence suggests that without placing restrictions on the use of these unregulated spectrum licenses, the effects will both directly and indirectly negatively impact consumers, and will result in further industry consolidation and collusion. In light of T-Mobile's dramatic change of position on the deals between Verizon and SpectrumCo, the FCC must be all the more cautious with its analysis.

The report by http://www.FCC.com exposes anti-competitive motivations behind Verizon Wireless' proposed purchase of unregulated AWS Spectrum licenses from the SpectrumCo consortium of cable companies. Further compounding the concerns is the company's simultaneous attempt to sell its regulated lower A and B Block licenses on the 700Mhz band of spectrum, in conjunction with collusive and secretive side deals struck with Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks, Comcast, and now Cox Cable.

There is much debate currently surrounding the purchase and sale of wireless spectrum, but to this date, the arguments put forth have failed take a step back to the evolution of the industry and where it is likely to head. The history leading up to the current situation is complex and highly technical, leading to reports that lack the capacity to help consumers understand the substantive issues.

The report released by FCC.com puts the debate in proper context and in an informative manner that is easy to comprehend. The article recaps the 1996 Telecommunications Act, the 2008 Wireless Spectrum Auction, and the general economic theory surrounding industries that tend over time toward consolidation and monopolization.

FCC.com proposes that as a nation, we must take a deeper look at the process by which we examine and promote competition in the wireless industry in order to ensure the imposition of relevant regulations to manage its rapid evolution. Without taking that step, the deals like those that Verizon Wireless is making today will detrimentally impact our free access to the web and its services.