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FCC Intends to Bar Joint Bidding in Airwaves Auction

GoBigRed79

By GoBigRed79
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dstar2002 Member Level: eHRPD

dstar2002

Posted
Posted

So apparently the fcc was instituted to protect att and vzw?

Clearly the FCC is only there to ensure whoever has the most cash gets more cash.

 

Guess what, us consumers don't have the most cash, so we suffer most.

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Destroyallcubes Member Level: 4G LTE

Destroyallcubes

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Does sprint or T-Mobile need more than a 5x5 chunk for most areas? Major cities maybe 10x10 but 600mhz spectrum will be used mainly for extended coverage,building penetration, and possible capacity in some markets.

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maxsilver Member Level: 3G EVDO

maxsilver

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I don't see this as quite the terrible thing it appears to be, at first glance.

 

If you let Sprint + T-Mobile bid jointly, what's to stop Verizon + AT&T from also bidding jointly, and still winning all of the (non-rule-protected) spectrum at the auction.

 

In fact, if you allow joint bids, what prevents all four carriers from bidding on the auction together, to drive the auction prices down. 

 

Doesn't the FCC basically *have* to make bidders operate independently, or else the auction won't work in the first place?

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bigsnake49 Member Level: LTE Advanced

bigsnake49

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I don't see this as quite the terrible thing it appears to be, at first glance.

 

If you let Sprint + T-Mobile bid jointly, what's to stop Verizon + AT&T from also bidding jointly, and still winning all of the (non-rule-protected) spectrum at the auction.

 

In fact, if you allow joint bids, what prevents all four carriers from bidding on the auction together, to drive the auction prices down. 

 

Doesn't the FCC basically *have* to make bidders operate independently, or else the auction won't work in the first place?

Yes, but here is the problem: Let's say that separately Sprint and T-Bomile can only bid for the 5x5MHz blocks. Together they can bid for the 10x10MHz blocks against the Verizons and AT&Ts of the world. The 10MHz block will now attract a lot more money since you will have 3 bidders instead of just two.

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maxsilver Member Level: 3G EVDO

maxsilver

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Yes, but here is the problem: Let's say that separately Sprint and T-Bomile can only bid for the 5x5MHz blocks. Together they can bid for the 10x10MHz blocks against the Verizons and AT&Ts of the world. The 10MHz block will now attract a lot more money since you will have 3 bidders instead of just two.

 

Right. I fully understand how an auction works. But your "problem" isn't solved by a joint bid.

 

In your scenario, if Sprint and T-Mobile are allowed to combine when bidding, then Verizon and AT&T can *also* combine to bid, to combat this. Now your still back to just two bidders for the same 10mhz block. Your not attracting any more money (actually likely less money), and the duopoly still gets the spectrum.

 

Remember, Verizon and AT&T can joint bid on, and share/split a 10mhz block just as easily as Sprint and T-Mobile can.

 

I'm all for the little guy at the auctions, but this FCC rule doesn't seem that problematic. If you let one group start 'fake merging' for bids, then everyone will do it, and they'll effectively write the rules for the auction.

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bigsnake49 Member Level: LTE Advanced

bigsnake49

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Right. I fully understand how an auction works. But your "problem" isn't solved by a joint bid.

 

In your scenario, if Sprint and T-Mobile are allowed to combine when bidding, then Verizon and AT&T can *also* combine to bid, to combat this. Now your still back to just two bidders for the same 10mhz block. Your not attracting any more money (actually likely less money), and the duopoly still gets the spectrum.

 

Remember, Verizon and AT&T can joint bid on, and share/split a 10mhz block just as easily as Sprint and T-Mobile can.

 

I'm all for the little guy at the auctions, but this FCC rule doesn't seem that problematic. If you let one group start 'fake merging' for bids, then everyone will do it, and they'll effectively write the rules for the auction.

No, Verizon and AT&T are not allowed to.

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maxsilver Member Level: 3G EVDO

maxsilver

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No, Verizon and AT&T are not allowed to.

 

Right. That's the problem I mentioned three posts ago.

 

Any rule that lets Sprint and T-Mobile joint bid, would also let Verizon and AT&T joint bid, unless it specifically singled them out (at which point they'd sue, and probably win).

 

We're basically asking the FCC to make a rule that says, "everyone is allowed to jointly bid, except specifically these two companies, simply because we don't like them".

 

I don't think it's reasonable to expect the FCC to do that. Even if they were as pro-small-operators as possible, that's an unreasonable expectation, as they're still tasked to craft rules that are reasonably equal for all parties (even the ones we don't like).

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jamisonshaw125 Member Level: LTE Advanced

jamisonshaw125

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Right. That's the problem I mentioned three posts ago.

 

Any rule that lets Sprint and T-Mobile joint bid, would also let Verizon and AT&T joint bid, unless it specifically singled them out (at which point they'd sue, and probably win).

 

We're basically asking the FCC to make a rule that says, "everyone is allowed to jointly bid, except specifically these two companies, simply because we don't like them".

 

I don't think it's reasonable to expect the FCC to do that. Even if they were as pro-small-operators as possible, that's an unreasonable expectation, as they're still tasked to craft rules that are reasonably equal for all parties (even the ones we don't like).

I can agree with your logic. If the spectrum "caps" remain in place, then I think the auction will go okay....at least for sprint. Robert is right...ATT & Verizon need to be focusing on capacity now. Sprint has all the capacity they can get, and then some. Now all they need is a few hundred cargo crates to be shipped over with new equipment so sprint can finally enter the game!

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S4GRU Member Level: LTE Advanced

S4GRU

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Posted

I don't see this as quite the terrible thing it appears to be, at first glance.

 

If you let Sprint + T-Mobile bid jointly, what's to stop Verizon + AT&T from also bidding jointly, and still winning all of the (non-rule-protected) spectrum at the auction.

 

In fact, if you allow joint bids, what prevents all four carriers from bidding on the auction together, to drive the auction prices down.

 

Doesn't the FCC basically *have* to make bidders operate independently, or else the auction won't work in the first place?

Sprint and Tmo wouldn't split a 10MHz block. They would either give certain regions to one or the other based on need, or they would do network sharing on that 10MHz (most likely).

 

Also, my objections are not just because of Sprint. It would disallow smaller providers who would definitely need to join forces to go after 600MHz. This is the biggest crime of them all.

 

As for AT&T and VZW joining forces to bid, that would not likely happen. They would not want to share spectrum or networks with each other. And if they do, so be it. But if they wanted to do so to try to keep prices lower, it would likely have the opposite effect. If the 10x10 bidding is low because AT&T and VZW joint bid, then many others would jump in on the bidding and try to take it from them.

 

The FCC doesn't have to make bidders independent. They haven't in the past. They just need to have the appropriate build out and network availability guidelines in place...and most importantly, ENFORCE THEM STRICTLY!!! The way the FCC has allowed de facto spectrum squatting for years beyond buildout requirements is a farce.

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

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S4GRU Member Level: LTE Advanced

S4GRU

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No if they are allowed to jointly bid then they cannot have any set asides...

Set asides? I'm not sure I follow...

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

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