FCC chief: Airwave auction should boost competition

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski said that a goal of the upcoming auction of airwave licenses should be to boost competition among cellphone carriers.

"It's very important for our innovation economy that mobile remain[s] competitive," Chairman Genachowski said. He warned that allowing industry leaders AT&T and Verizon to dominate the market would be a "very bad thing for our innovation economy." He said that thanks to the FCC's efforts, T-Mobile and Sprint are "moving up, they're getting stronger and we're seeing a healthy competitive market." He noted that T-Mobile is trying a new business model by offering contract-free plans.