The charge against the cable and satellite operators comes in a letter to key members of Congress. The NAB president also calls for a government investigation into “spectrum hoarding and/or spectrum speculation.”
NAB’s Smith: Dish, TWC ‘Hoarding’ Spectrum
In a letter to key lawmakers yesterday, NAB President Gordon Smith accused Dish Network and Time Warner Cable of “hoarding” spectrum at the same time the FCC is warning of a spectrum shortage and pushing a plan to take back 40% of broadcast spectrum.
Smith also recommended that the Government Accountability Office or some other independent agency conduct an investigation of “spectrum hoarding and/or spectrum speculation.”
“If America is truly facing a spectrum shortage, then it is imperative that policymakers receive an unbiased and thorough report on how private companies like Dish, Time Warner Cable and government agencies are using or warehousing this precious resource.”
To back his charge against Dish, Smith cited a story last Friday in Communications Daily concerning Dish’s agreement to buy a bankrupt S-band licensee as well as remarks Dish CEO Charlie Ergen made last November during an earnings conference call.
In the call, Ergen called the 700 MHz swatch of spectrum he bought in 2008 for $712 million a “pretty good inflation hedge…. If we’re not able to strategically do something with the spectrum, there are probably other people who are able to do that.”
In his letter, Smith also reiterated the NAB’s position on the FCC spectrum plan, saying that the trade group does not object to allowing broadcasters to give back spectrum voluntarily. “However, we will strongly oppose the forcible return of spectrum from broadcasters who choose not to ‘volunteer,’ ” the letter says. “In addition, we will oppose forced relocation of TV stations into bandwidth that would harm viewers’ ability to receive full high definition TV, new niche programming choices via ‘multicasting,’ and live and local digital television.”
BRAND CONNECTIONS
Smith’s letter was sent to Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee; Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), ranking minority member of the Senate Commerce Committee; Fred Upton (R-Mich.), chairman of the House Energy & Commerce Committee; and Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), ranking minority member of House Energy & Commerce Committee.
Comments (5)
Ellen Samrock says:
March 1, 2011 at 12:00 pm
Finally!. With all of the Chicken Little ‘sky is falling’ rhetoric from the CEA, CTIA and FCC it’s time for the gloves to come off and lay out some inconvenient truths about this so-called spectrum crisis vs. spectrum hoarding. Broadcasters and the public at large deserve to see some accountability for the over 300 MHz of unused spectrum that the telcos, cable/satellite companies and wireless providers are warehousing. And it’s encouraging to see that not every member of Congress is buying into the hoax.
Kathryn Miller says:
March 1, 2011 at 12:55 pm
I’m not so sure that Dish is actually hoarding. They seem to be working on something, and the NAB, hence Mr. Smith, is actually aware of the Dish project. Sure, they haven’t come out of stealth mode, and it might be all about simply being stealthy. And, didn’t these two parties pay for the spectrum? Were they required to actually deploy it? If not, why not? Seems at odds with the Comm Act language about rapid deployment.
Ellen Samrock says:
March 1, 2011 at 4:09 pm
Where did you read that Dish has plans for their spectrum beyond hoarding it? If anything Dish CEO Charles Ergen, according to Mr. Smith’s letter, extolled the virtues of hanging on to spectrum as an asset, whether it’s being used or not, as a “speculative investment.” So in Mr. Ergen’s mind, holding this spectrum is simply a good business strategy like owning stocks and bonds; it’s part of the Dish investment portfolio. Sure, at some point in the future all of this warehoused spectrum will be put to use–no doubt after it has been sold and re-sold a few times by speculators. But doesn’t it make more sense for these companies to first develop the spectrum already in their possession before asking the government for more of it–particularly when their request involves severely crippling another industry?
Ben Gao says:
March 1, 2011 at 3:30 pm
Just heard today that the telcos are also aiming to steal 20 MHz from the Ham radio guys from 420-440MHz – and they’ve already got spectrum doing nothing. In addtion, they keep saying it’s for the “first responders emergency network 9-11” etc… and that is crap, as that spectrum is already allocated for them, only the cash from spectrum sales to the billionaire cellphone companies would go there. Let them use what they’ve got now before they go pestering for more. BTW, who has another $100 a month laying around for wireless broadband? Last time I checked, 24% of my county’s population was under the poverty level, 11% was unemployed, and their homes are worth 50% as much. Just who is going to even be able to pay for monthly access to this wireless broadband? Not me; our company just took a 20% paycut.
Ben Gao says:
March 1, 2011 at 3:31 pm
Just heard today that the telcos are also aiming to steal 20 MHz from the Ham radio guys from 420-440MHz – and they’ve already got spectrum doing nothing. In addtion, they keep saying it’s for the “first responders emergency network 9-11” etc… and that is crap, as that spectrum is already allocated for them, only the cash from spectrum sales to the billionaire cellphone companies would go there. Let them use what they’ve got now before they go pestering for more. BTW, who has another $100 a month laying around for wireless broadband? Last time I checked, 24% of my county’s population was under the poverty level, 11% was unemployed, and their homes are worth 50% as much. Just who is going to even be able to pay for monthly access to this wireless broadband? Not me; our company just took a 20% paycut.