Members of Congress are putting some heat on the Federal Communications Commission to resolve pending C-block personal communications services reconsideration petitions dealing with financial restructuring options this week to give licensees enough time to consider their options, due Feb. 26 at the FCC .
The reconsideration order, which will be decided on circulation rather than by a vote during Thursday’s monthly open commission meeting, is expected to be released any day now, but constituents have been pressing representatives for nearly a month to remind commissioners that the goal is to get small businesses and rural telephone companies involved in wireless, and to make sure new networks are built out quickly.
“As you reconsider your restructuring plan, I urge you to take into account the interests of the American small business owners who have purchased C-block licenses to serve rural and underserved areas, including South Dakota,” wrote Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) in a Feb. 11 letter to FCC Chairman Bill Kennard. “I also hope you will develop a commercially reasonable option that will allow licensees to build and operate their networks.”
Sen. Bob Kerrey (D-Neb.) went even further in a Feb. 12 message to the chairman. “I do not believe the commission should dramatically revise the rules that govern these entities simply to guarantee their ability to retain licenses they could not otherwise afford,” he wrote. “However, any solution devised by the commission should give the defaulting C-block winners a fair opportunity to go forward in the PCS business with those licenses they are prepared to purchase at the full auction price.”
Kerrey continued, “A possible solution to this problem might be changing the installment-payment schedule in such a way that will relieve some of the immediate pressure on these businesses. The commission may also wish to consider allowing defaulting C-block bidders to return, without penalty, licenses they cannot afford.”
Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus reiterated their concerns that few Latinos participated in the C-block auction, and they question whether opportunities will exist for that segment of the U.S. voting public in the future. Saying that their “hopes were dashed” regarding minority participation in the C-block bidding because the FCC “wrote and rewrote the rules,” caucus members asked that any new plan assist, rather than punish, new entrants.
“Down payments made by entrepreneurs should not be treated in a punitive fashion as in the decision under review, and entrepreneurs should be given greater flexibility as to which licenses can be returned … without penalty,” it wrote.
Sens. Richard Bryan (D-Nev.) and Harry Reid (D-Nev.), asked Kennard to “act quickly” to defer payments during the first few years of buildout; once cash flow is being generated, principal and interest payments can begin.
