The two largest U.S. wireless carriers object to provisions imposed by the Federal Communications Commission on Harbinger Capital's acquisition of SkyTerra Communications. The FCC rules Harbinger must have agency approval before selling spectrum to AT&T or Verizon.
Verizon Wireless has joined AT&T in objecting to the Federal
Communications Commission's restrictions on Harbinger Capital Partners,
a private equity firm which intends to sell spectrum for a nationwide,
wholesale Long-Term Evolution network. The FCC, though, is requiring Harbinger
to seek its approval before leasing capacity on the network to the "largest
or
second-largest wireless provider."
Under the terms of the deal, AT&T and Verizon are forbidden from
holding more than 25 percent of the spectrum.
Harbinger completed its acquisition of SkyTerra Communications March 29
in all-cash deal for $262.5 million. Harbinger hopes to build an LTE
network using both terrestrial and
MSS
spectrum following the acquisition. AT&T and Verizon argue the FCC's action
is not consistent with the open networks concept of the National Broadband
Plan.
"The process used to include these conditions in the SkyTerra order
was deeply flawed and inconsistent with the transparent, open and
fact-driven decision making that has been an early hallmark of your
chairmanship," Verizon General Counsel Steve Zipperstein wrote in a
petition to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski.
AT&T raised similar objections in a petition filing.
"These commitments-building out the network to 260 million Americans
by 2015 and allowing the FCC prior review of potential leases of
spectrum or capacity to the two largest incumbent carriers-do not
prohibit any specific transactions," Paul de Sa, chief of the FCC's
Office of Strategic Planning and Policy Analysis, wrote in a blog
post. "But they do provide some reassurance that the approval will
ignite new broadband competition while protecting the public from any
potential harms."
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