The Department of Justice said Wednesday that the Federal Communications Commission should give “considerable weight” to competition concerns when deciding whether to expand the block of wireless spectrum reserved for smaller carriers in a coming auction.
The size of the reserve is the subject of a public fight between T-Mobile and the two largest players in wireless, AT&T and Verizon.
The FCC is preparing to auction off a significant block of spectrum, the airwaves that carry signals and data to cellphones. Last year, commissioners reserved 30 megahertz for smaller carriers.
But T-Mobile has said that the reserve should be 40 megahertz. It argues that a reserve of that size will allow two, rather than one, smaller carriersto get enough spectrum to compete with AT&T and Verizon — improving competition in the wireless market.
In the Wednesday letter, the chief of the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice seemed supportive of T-Mobile’s case.
“The Department recognizes that the Commission must balance competing policy priorities in setting the appropriate reserve levels,” said Assistant Attorney General William Baer in the letter.
Full content: CNet
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
DirecTV and Disney Resolve Dispute, Restore Programming for Subscribers
Sep 15, 2024 by
CPI
UK Antitrust Authority Raises Concerns Over Vodafone-Three Merger
Sep 15, 2024 by
CPI
Brazilian Supreme Court Lifts Freeze on Starlink Accounts, Transfers $3.3 Million to National Treasury
Sep 15, 2024 by
CPI
Steptoe Expands Antitrust Practice with Key London Hire
Sep 15, 2024 by
CPI
Instant Ad Auctions at the Heart of Google’s Federal Monopoly Case
Sep 15, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Canada & Mexico
Sep 3, 2024 by
CPI
Competitive Convergence: Mexico’s 30-Year Quest for Antitrust Parity with its Northern Neighbor
Sep 3, 2024 by
Francisco Javier Núñez Melgoza
Competition and Digital Markets in North America: A Comparative Study of Antitrust Investigations in Mexico and the United States
Sep 3, 2024 by
Julio Garcia
Recent Antitrust Development in Mexico: COFECE’s Preliminary Report on Amazon and Mercado Libre
Sep 3, 2024 by
Alejandra Palacios Prieto
The Cost of Making COFECE Disappear
Sep 3, 2024 by
Mateo Fernández