FCC Vacancies Could Delay ATandT, LightSquared Approvals
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News Analysis: AT&T-T-Mobile merger approval and permission for LightSquared to operate its broadband wireless networking could be delayed while the Federal Communications Commission replaces departed membership.
Federal Communications Commission approval of two big decisions are
even more uncertain since one member resigned and another intends to
leave later this year, almost certainly before either AT&T's
proposed $39 billion merger with T-Mobile or LightSquared's application to operate a wireless broadband network near the GPS bands comes to a vote.
Currently one of the two Republican seats on the FCC is vacant
following Meredith Baker's resignation to accept a job with Comcast
shortly after she and three other commissioners voted in favor of that
company's acquisition of NBC.
Michael Copps, one of the three Democratic commissioners, will be
leaving later this year. That will leave three commissioners running
the FCC who could decide these issues without filling the vacancies,
but considering the strong opposition to the proposals, it's unlikely
that the FCC would move forward until both seats are filled. Copps has
consistently been more pro-consumer and pro-net neutrality than the
other commissioners, but political party affiliation has never been a
good predictor of how the commissioners will vote on any given issue.
Adding to the confusion that's sure to be taking place at the FCC, each
commissioner has their own staff of advisers and assistants. Sometimes
these advisers, especially the technical advisers, are taken from
within the ranks of FCC employees, but sometimes they're not. This
means that when new commissioners are named, not only do they need to
learn the issues about which they'll be voting, but so do the members
of their respective staffs. With cases as complex as the
AT&T-T-Mobile merger or the worries about the LightSquared network interfering with GPS receivers this could take some time.
What this means is that despite the desire of AT&T to get their
merger done by March 2012, there's a high likelihood that it won't
happen by then. With the LightSquared GPS interference issue, things
are even more in doubt. There clearly needs to be more testing of the revised solution
that LightSquared says will solve the GPS problems. That testing can go
ahead regardless of who's on the commission. But after the testing is
done, another report will have to be written, taking up even more time.
At some point there will need to be a decision by the full commission
as to whether LightSquared's plan interferes with GPS navigation to the
point that it can't be used or a decision that it doesn't. This could
be a very politically sensitive decision considering how broad based
GPS use is. In addition Congress is taking a keen interest in the decision and is looking for guarantees that the LightSquared network won't interfere with GPS.
Wayne Rash is a Senior Analyst for eWEEK Labs and runs the magazine's Washington Bureau. Prior to joining eWEEK as a Senior Writer on wireless technology, he was a Senior Contributing Editor and previously a Senior Analyst in the InfoWorld Test Center. He was also a reviewer for Federal Computer Week and Information Security Magazine. Previously, he ran the reviews and events departments at CMP's InternetWeek.He is a retired naval officer, a former principal at American Management Systems and a long-time columnist for Byte Magazine. He is a regular contributor to Plane & Pilot Magazine and The Washington Post.
