T-mobile wants more beachfront spectrum

The Federal Communications Commission is going to auction off more of the airwaves in 2016, to wireless companies. All the phone companies want more spectrum, as we use more of those airwaves to stream stuff. And the spectrum the FCC is auctioning off is primo. “Yeah, this is beachfront,” says Kathleen O’Brien Ham, T-Mobile’s Vice President for Federal Regulatory Affairs. This beachfront property? It’s super spectrum, which can cover long distances and travel through buildings in a single bound. T-Mobile wants to expand its reach and compete more.

“That competition is giving consumers great choice, great pricing,” says O'Brien Ham. T-Mobile wants the FCC to set aside half the spectrum to be auctioned off - so only smaller companies can bid on it. But the FCC may not go for that, because it has to strike a balance. “Between trying to promote competition versus generating ample competitive bidding revenues from the auction," says Robert Frieden, a professor of telecommunications and law at Penn State University. Neil Grace, a spokesperson for the FCC, says the spectrum speculation is premature. “No decisions have been made.”