Incentives for Secondary Market Transactions to Facilitate Wireless Entrepreneurship for Minority and Women Owners

This White Paper outlines four incentives to cultivate minority ownership of commercial wireless spectrum. The Multicultural Media Telecom and Internet Council (MMTC) calls for both Congress and the Federal Communications Commission to develop market-based incentives that advance competition and innovation, while increasing minority and women entrepreneurship in the wireless communications space, especially in spectrum licenses and the operations of assets.

1. Restore and refine the Tax Certificate Policy for immediate application to secondary market transactions, enabling sellers to defer payment of the capital gains taxes on the sale upon reinvestment in comparable property. (This initiative requires legislation.)
2. Consider voluntary secondary market transactions with minority business enterprises (“MBEs”) and women-owned business enterprises (“WBEs”), collectively MWBEs, as factors in determining whether to report to Congress that the mobile wireless marketplace is competitive. This initiative can be adopted by the FCC under its existing statutory authority.
3. Incorporate voluntary secondary market transactions with MWBEs as part of mergers and acquisitions regulatory review, including whether to give carrier rule waivers relating to ownership. (This initiative can be adopted by the FCC under its existing statutory authority.)
4. Award carriers a bidding credit when, or after, they engage in voluntary secondary market transactions with MWBEs in wireless auctions. (This initiative can be adopted by the FCC under its existing statutory authority.)