More 700MHz Auction Fun: Frontline Asks FCC To Ban Verizon Wireless From Bidding

from the ah,-the-one-up-manship dept

For something as boring as a spectrum auction, the upcoming 700MHz auction sure has its fair share of excitement. There are the rumors of Google and even Apple potentially bidding on the spectrum. Google requested that the FCC attach some specific conditions to the auction, which the FCC gave some lip service to, but hardly a full endorsement. Meanwhile, Verizon Wireless initially liked the conditions set by the FCC (meaning it thought it had a good chance of getting the spectrum) until it began to think through the scenarios (or heard more credible stories about competitive bids) and then suddenly decided to sue the FCC, claiming that the rules being set are illegal. Of course, others can play the lawsuit game too. Frontline Wireless, a new company basically built to bid on this spectrum, is now accusing Verizon Wireless of breaking the law in not disclosing the details of a recent meeting between Verizon Wireless officials and the FCC about the auction — as required by the law. Thus, Frontline is asking the FCC to sanction Verizon Wireless, including the extremely unlikely possibility of barring it from the 700MHz auction. Of course, just imagine the resulting lawsuits should the FCC actually agree and bar Verizon Wireless. Somehow, given Kevin Martin’s chummy relationship with the telcos, it seems unlikely that Verizon Wireless will be stopped from bidding.

Filed Under:
Companies: fcc, frontline, verizon wireless

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...
Rate this comment as insightful
Rate this comment as funny
You have rated this comment as insightful
You have rated this comment as funny
Flag this comment as abusive/trolling/spam
You have flagged this comment
The first word has already been claimed
The last word has already been claimed
Insightful Lightbulb icon Funny Laughing icon Abusive/trolling/spam Flag icon Insightful badge Lightbulb icon Funny badge Laughing icon Comments icon

Comments on “More 700MHz Auction Fun: Frontline Asks FCC To Ban Verizon Wireless From Bidding”

Subscribe: RSS Leave a comment
9 Comments
Kevin says:

Let's not get crazy here...

The outcome of this auction will have more impact on the U.S. than the 2008 presidential election will, so I would hardly call it boring.

After all, there’s a war on (two if you count Afghanistan), and it’s looking pretty likely that there’s going to be at least some military action coming up in Iran as well. Choosing a new president could have a huge impact on that, especially if one is elected that can successfully steer us through the whole mess without alienating the entire world.

Killer_Tofu (profile) says:

Verizon

Verizon is so full of crap. And they have extra there, so they decide to give shit to other people too. You want something from them? They will play by their rules and give you shit for it.

Where as those in control of our country really don’t have any shit. They couldn’t give a shit less what happens to you. They don’t give a shit about anything except their pocketbooks.

Poomer says:

Can you really stop Verizon?

Lets say that by a chance in a million, FCC actually bans Verizon from the auction. Do you think they wont buy the firm that wins the auction??

Frontline Wireless probably is partly owned by some investors who also happen to invest in Verizon, so eventually Verizon will buy them out and control more resources.

Thats the way a corporation would work… please watch the documentary – “The Corporation”.

andy says:

Re: Can you really stop Verizon?

if you watch the documentary “the corporation” you will waste your life on a heavy- and ham-handed explanation of why all corporations are evil based on evidence that a handful of corporations actually are.

terrible movie with terrible sources and, ultimately, no well-cited or reasoned argument given why the idea of — or existence of — a corporation is bad… it just presents the overwhelmingly obvious: some corporations are sh*tty (dun dun DUUUUNNNNN!).

i could make a similar movie with a similar thesis about the movie-documentary industry after watching “the corporation.” how ironic/self-fulfilling would that be? a movie-documentary about how sh*tty the movie-documentary industry is! ha!

Add Your Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Have a Techdirt Account? Sign in now. Want one? Register here

Comment Options:

Make this the or (get credits or sign in to see balance) what's this?

What's this?

Techdirt community members with Techdirt Credits can spotlight a comment as either the "First Word" or "Last Word" on a particular comment thread. Credits can be purchased at the Techdirt Insider Shop »

Follow Techdirt

Techdirt Daily Newsletter

Ctrl-Alt-Speech

A weekly news podcast from
Mike Masnick & Ben Whitelaw

Subscribe now to Ctrl-Alt-Speech »
Techdirt Deals
Techdirt Insider Discord
The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...
Loading...