FCC rejects CCA request for stay in Verizon/Straight Path license transfer

The Federal Communications Commission’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau announced it will not stand in the way of Straight Path’s millimeter wave (mmWave) license transfer to Verizon, denying a request from the Competitive Carriers Association (CCA) to stay a Jan. 18 order approving the transfer. The bureau said CCA failed to meet its burden for a “grant of an extraordinary remedy” of a stay.

One of the key arguments CCA put forth was that by allowing Verizon such large holdings of mmWave spectrum, it would get a first-mover advantage that would effectively shut out CCA members from emerging 5G markets. But the FCC bureau disagreed, saying CCA didn’t substantiate its claim with a factual showing that its members would be irreparably injured absent a stay and that CCA didn’t even ask for a stay until more than a month after the bureau’s order approving the transaction. CCA had accused the bureau of pushing the transaction through without a proper analysis and that it amounted to allowing Straight Path to acquire nearly $2.5 billion in “ill-gotten gains” after warehousing spectrum for years using licenses that should have been terminated and returned to the commission.