Subject: [NEXTEL-1] CCAGW Claims Victory After FCC Backs Off Spectrum Giveaway

From: [email-masked]
Date: Sat, 22 May 2004 03:23:04 -0400

[May 21, 2004]

CCAGW Claims Victory After FCC Backs Off Spectrum Giveaway

WASHINGTON, May 21 /PRNewswire/ -- The Council for Citizens Against
Government Waste (CCAGW) today celebrated a victory for taxpayers as the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) yanked its approval of a plan to
swap airwave spectrum with Nextel Communications at a below-market
price. The "Consensus Plan," designed to reduce Nextel's interference
with police and emergency airwaves, had Nextel giving up its
800-megahertz spectrum and paying $850 million to move public safety
agencies to less-crowded frequencies. In return, Nextel would have
gotten the rights to airwaves in the more efficient and more valuable
1.9 gigahertz range. CCAGW criticized the plan for violating FCC policy
and federal law, which require new spectrum to be auctioned off to the
highest bidder.

"This was a sweetheart deal for Nextel that would have put rival
carriers at a competitive disadvantage," CCAGW President Tom Schatz
said. "Thankfully for consumers and taxpayers, the FCC appears to be
reversing its intention to give away billions of dollars worth of
spectrum. The airwaves are a public resource, and that money rightfully
belongs to the taxpayers."

Verizon Wireless stated that it would start the bidding at $5 billion if
an auction for the 1.9 gigahertz spectrum were held. The Nextel-friendly
plan was informally approved in early April by a majority of the five
commissioners, including Chairman Michael K. Powell. But discussion
continued against a backdrop of controversy over just how much money the
government was passing up, thanks in part to the lobbying efforts of
CCAGW. This week, Powell pulled his vote supporting the 1.9 gigahertz
exchange, in a move that most likely signals a majority of commissioners
favor giving Nextel the less valuable 2.1 gigahertz spectrum instead.
"It is ironic that the Consensus Plan would give Nextel a multi-billion
dollar windfall to 'correct' an interference problem it caused in the
first place," Schatz continued. "While the plan purports to solve a
public safety issue, it really is an attempt to obtain large portions of
valuable spectrum at no cost."

The value of the 1.9 GHz contiguous spectrum has been estimated to be
worth as much as $7 billion if sold at auction. However, Nextel's plan
would require the company to pay only $850 million and reband the 800
MHz spectrum. The use of competitive bidding for electromagnetic
spectrum has returned some $14.4 billion to the taxpayers since 1994.
"The FCC should adopt a different proposal that addresses the public
safety issue without ripping off taxpayers," Schatz concluded.
"Considering the projected $521 billion budget deficit, the government
cannot afford to simply give away a valuable asset such as spectrum."

The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste is the lobbying arm of
Citizens Against Government Waste, the nation's largest nonpartisan,
nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and
mismanagement in government.
Council for Citizens Against Government Waste

CONTACT: Mark Carpenter or Tom Finnigan, both of the Council forCitizens
Against Government Waste, +1-202-467-5300

Web site: http://www.ccagw.org/

http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2004/May/1042566.htm
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