Years ago then-Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg clearly stated the company would have more than enough spectrum to fully offer nationwide LTE wireless broadband. That was before the company moved to nab another 122 Advanced Wireless Services spectrum licenses from the cable industry.
Studies show both AT&T and Verizon have plenty of spectrum, particularly after re-farming spectrum currently being used for 2G and 3G (EVDO) services.
Taking that one step further, Verizon Wireless CEO Dan Mead
stated just last week Verizon has plenty of spectrum and won't have to even worry about refarming existing spectrum anytime soon. So it's interesting to read
a post at Verizon's policy blog that, after patting themselves on their back for their quick LTE deployment and efficient use of resources, goes right back to chirping about a supposed "spectrum crisis" that we really should do something about:
Rather than waste time arguing about spectrum efficiency, let’s focus on the issue on which we all agree: America’s wireless consumers face a spectrum crunch that won’t be relieved by Verizon’s spectrum purchase. It’s up to the industry, as well as policymakers, to help ensure that more spectrum reaches the marketplace soon, so America’s wireless industry remains the global leader in innovation that it is today.
So Verizon has plenty of spectrum, but there's still a spectrum crisis? If there's a crunch, it's being felt by smaller companies who can't afford to outbid industry giants AT&T and Verizon at auction. Should a company obtain spectrum, lobbyists attempt to
sabotage the process and obtain that spectrum anyway. With the
help of the press, AT&T and Verizon keep a "crisis" narrative afloat, allowing them to gobble up spectrum for anti-competitive reasons, justify ridiculously low caps and extremely high per byte overages, and scare lawmakers into passing protectionist regulations.
If there's a crisis, it's an anti-competitive one.
·
·