John Edwards may be the first White House contender to offer up an
opinion on the upcoming 700 MHz auction scheduled for later this year at
the Federal Communications Commission, and he appears to stand behind
the notion of more bidding opportunities for smaller players.
In a letter yesterday to Chairman Kevin Martin, the candidate wrote,
"The upcoming 700 MHz spectrum auction presents a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity to shape the next generation of American technology. In
recent years, the Internet has grown to touch everything and transform
much of what it touches. It's not the answer to everything, but it can
powerfully accelerate the best of America. It improves our democracy by
making quiet voices loud, improves our economy by making small markets
big, and improves opportunity by making unlikely dreams possible.
Calling the spectrum slice "beachfront," Edwards said the 700 MHz band
is "particularly well suited to wireless broadband because it has wide
coverage and can easily pass through walls." As such, "by setting bid
and service rules that unleash the potential of smaller new entrants,
you can transform information opportunity for people across America --
rural and urban, wealthy and not," he added. "As much as half of the
spectrum should be set aside for wholesalers who can lease access to
smaller start-ups, which has the potential to improve service to rural
and underserved areas. Additionally, anyone winning rights to this
valuable public resource should be required not to discriminate among
data and services and to allow any device to be attached to their
service. Finally, bidding should be anonymous to avoid collusion and
retaliatory bids."
Edwards did not address the contentious issue of a nationwide broadband
network set-aside for first responders, but it's interesting that this
rather arcane topic - spectrum auctions - may become a plank in a
Republican or Democratic platform next year.
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