Decision on on 700 MHz nears

wireless broadband services and improved first-responder communications. Kerry did not mention Frontline Wireless by name, but his press release embraces many of the themes in the startup’s campaign to create a national wireless system.

Representatives of two wireless carriers told the committee they oppose open access rules in the auction. Dick Lynch, executive vice president and chief technical officer at Verizon Wireless, suggested open access and net neutrality rules called for by several groups would limit the appeal of the spectrum and reduce the money the U.S. government receives in the auction (pdf testimony). AT&T also argued that the market should determine how spectrum should be used. On the other side, Google said that federal regulators must step in and impose “open access” rules to prevent a few cellular companies from controlling the 700 MHz spectrum.

A group calling itself the Coalition for 4G America that includes Google, Intel, EBay, and satellite television companies EchoStar and DirecTV, has been aggressively lobbying for a 22 MHz block of spectrum with a national license. The coalition argues that such a chunk of spectrum would be necessary in order for a bidder to launch a significant challenge to the dominant cable and phone company broadband providers.

Google, Intel, and other techies are pushing the FCC to create licenses for larger geographic areas and allow “package bidding” so one company could assemble a nationwide franchise by bidding on a combination of licenses. “If you have that much power concentrated in a few players, they will have the incentive to limit or forestall innovations,” says Richard Whitt, Google’s Washington telecom and media counsel.

Groups like Save Our Spectrum Coalition believe 700 MHz spectrum could provide inexpensive broadband to the general public, especially in rural areas.

Verizon is vehemently against proposed rule changes that would prevent incumbents from bidding or allow winners to sell spectrum wholesale. “The best thing the government can do to ensure that the country remains competitive in broadband is to open the auction to all bidders,” says Steve Zipperstein, vice-president for legal and external affairs at Verizon Wireless.

The FCC’s two Democratic commissioners have tended to be sympathetic to stricter regulations, while the three Republicans have maintained that further regulations are not necessary. A final ruling on the 700 MHz auction has been pushed back to July, with a statutory deadline to conduct the auction by January 2008.