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Your Chance aft Beachfront Property [Rural Telecommunications](Rural Telecommunications Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) The FCC is poised to conduct its first ever incentive auction of 600 MHz spectrum next year, and lawmakers, stakeholders and industry advocates are abuzz as the commission decides how the auction will be designed and handled. The agency recently released a report and order implementing rules for the auction designed to reallocate this valuable low-band spectrum, and to the delight of NTCA-The Rural Broadband Association and other advocates for small wireless providers, the commission decided to auction the spectrum in smaller partial economic areas, giving rural carriers a more meaningful chance to participate when pitted against the largest national providers. This is a big win for NTCA member companies and other small wireless carriers. But as the battle over this precious mobile broadband wages on, the real fun is about to begin. Many NTCA members tell me they would like to offer wireless services to their customers, but the challenges to doing so are just a bit too steep. A survey we conducted last year bore this out: Sixty percent of respondents to NTCA's "2013 Wireless Survey Report" indicated they are already providing wireless service to their customers; however, the majority of respondents reported that the ability to obtain spectrum at auction is a major concern. A frustrating fact for far too long has been that a large carrier can win an auction for spectrum covering a large geographic area and fulfill its buildout requirements without ever building out its spectrum holdings into its large rural areas. Policies like this, coupled with a prolonged lack of reasonably priced consumer devices and continued challenges securing fair and reasonable wholesale data roaming rates, have led the two largest carriers to now control more than 70% of available public spectrum, while some of the smallest players sit on the sidelines. For that reason, NTCA has worked tirelessly for nearly a year to ensure meaningful participation by our members in this auction. We commissioned a study to explore the use of smaller geographic area licenses in the auction, rather than the economic areas the commission initially proposed. Since then, we have been working with the commission and other rural groups to come up with a new map to ensure rural carriers can participate, and this spring we filed a consensus proposal with that map. As a result of these efforts, the commission voted to use the proposed map, providing a refreshing shift from the usual "world domination" that the largest carriers have typically been able to sway. The big question now is: Will rural carriers participate? Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler has called this incentive auction a oncein-a-lifetime opportunity to expand the benefits of mobile wireless services to all Americans, and I couldn't agree more. This low-band spectrum is the last bit of "beachfront" property available, and it has characteristics perfectly suited for serving the areas in which many of you operate. So while the challenges associated with providing wireless service are not insignificant, this may be rural carriers' best and last chance to secure valuable spectrum under favorable terms-and a golden opportunity to show that rural America is committed to delivering mobile broadband solutions. I know you are all committed to expanding the benefits of broadband coverage to rural America, and I am eager to see NTCA's membership step up and show that not only are you already providing these services and that you're the best and most qualified at doing so, but that you are also eager to expand your services and take advantage of this last-chance opportunity. 0 Shirley Bloomfield is chief executive officer of NTCA. She can be reached at sbloomfield(a)ntca.org. You can also follow her blog at ntca.org/ceoblog. (c) 2014 National Telephone Cooperative |