By Peter Kaplan
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin is
proposing to auction an unused piece of 25 megahertz wireless
spectrum, with the condition that the winning bidder offer free
Internet access and filter out obscene content on part of those
airwaves, a spokesman for the FCC said on Thursday.
"We're hoping there will be increased interest in the
proposal; and because this will provide wireless broadband
services to more Americans, it is certainly something we want
to see," said FCC spokesman Rob Kenny.
Under Martin's proposal, the winner would be allowed to use
the rest of the airwaves for commercial services.
The plan would address criticism from some consumer
advocates, who say the government has not done enough to get
broadband service into more households. It also could win
praise from anti-obscenity watchdog groups.
"I think there are a number of features of the plan that
would be attractive to various constituencies," said Stifel
Nicolaus analyst Blair Levin.
But the plan got a lukewarm response from existing wireless
carriers. The industry's chief trade group, called CTIA, said
auction provisions such as the free-service requirement were
too rigid.
"CTIA supports flexible auction rules that allow any and
all entities to participate," the group said in a statement.
The winning bidder also would have to build out the system
to serve 50 percent of the U.S. population within four years
and 95 percent within 10 years.
Further details of the plan have yet to be worked out, but
Martin's plan is expected to come up at the FCC's next meeting
on June 12.
Martin's proposal is similar to a plan put forth previously
by a start-up company called M2Z. Under that plan, which was
not approved by the FCC, M2Z would have been given the spectrum
at no up-front cost. It would have provided free service,
generating revenue partly through advertising.
The 25 MHz spectrum at issue is not viewed as highly
attractive to wireless carriers, unlike the 700 MHz spectrum
auctioned by the FCC earlier this year. There has been little
previous interest in it, aside from the M2Z proposal.
(Editing by Tim Dobbyn and Gerald E. McCormick)
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