NAB Takes Aim at T-Mobile, Says Carrier's Repack Predictions Can't Be Trusted
The FCC shouldn’t trust T-Mobile’s predictions about the post-incentive auction frequency repacking because the carrier repeatedly made inaccurate predictions and broke rules, said NAB Vice President-Spectrum Policy Patrick McFadden in a blog post Wednesday. T-Mobile “touts itself as the ‘Un-carrier,’”…
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McFadden said. The FCC should “take a moment to ponder the pattern and wonder just how much it can take T-Mobile at its ‘Un-word,’” he said. The company insisted the FCC needed a spectrum set aside in the incentive auction to keep AT&T and Verizon from buying up too much spectrum, but Verizon didn’t bid at all and AT&T didn’t spend as much as anticipated, McFadden said. T-Mobile violated the forward auction quiet period and “throttled” heavy data users, McFadden said. The FCC should take enforcement action, he said. “We’ll see if the government has anything to say about T-Mobile’s willingness to flaunt its rules in this instance and whether the powers that be will finally catch on to T-Mobile’s pattern of ‘Un-following’ the rules and playing fast and loose with ‘Un-facts.’” T-Mobile’s past actions should lead the agency to discount its claims the repacking can be completed in 39 months, McFadden said. “The FCC can no longer rely on T-Mobile’s now consistently dubious claims.” "T-Mobile is perplexed at how NAB’s rhetoric helps its members," said Steve Sharkey, vice president-government affairs. "We’re working cooperatively with its members on a successful transition that benefits consumers.”