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To: cfoe who wrote (1126)	11/9/2001 1:02:07 AM
From: Jon Koplik	Respond to of 2737

AP News -- FCC Removes Wireless Airwaves Cap November 8, 2001 FCC Removes Wireless Airwaves Cap By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Filed at 7:48 p.m. ET WASHINGTON (AP) -- The government on Thursday moved to eliminate a cap on how much space on the airwaves a wireless company can own in a market. The decision opens the way for mergers between major carriers and allows them to provide more mobile services such as high-speed Internet access. The Federal Communications Commission had previously limited the amount of airwaves space an operator could own in a particular geographic area, an effort to prevent a single giant company from squelching competition in that market. In a 3-1 vote, the agency decided to immediately raise the amount of airwaves space a company can own from 45 MHz to 55 MHz -- an increase of more than 20 percent -- and eliminate the limit in January 2003. The agency said the change was intended to address the concerns of wireless carriers that said they needed more airwaves space to provide advanced mobile services. The new services would allow consumers to receive large amounts of information on their cell phones or handheld devices, surf the Internet or even watch videos. ``The decision to eliminate the spectrum cap is an important down payment on overcoming the current spectrum shortage,'' said Tom Wheeler, president of the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association, the industry's top lobbying group. Rep. Cliff Stearns, vice chairman of the House telecommunications subcommittee, called the decision ``a tentative step in the right direction.'' But the Florida Republican, who introduced legislation last July aimed at removing the limit, said in a statement, ``The spectrum cap limits competition by denying wireless providers access to open markets, thereby denying consumers the benefits arising from additional competition, such as lower prices and innovative services.'' FCC Commissioner Michael Copps disagreed with the change, saying the agency had not done enough to study the shortage of airwaves. He said in a statement that lifting the cap would stifle competition in the wireless market. ``This is, for some, more about corporate mergers than it is about anything else,'' Copps said. He said the transition period for ending the cap in 2003 allows ``some time for the players to jockey into position to reap the spectral harvest.'' Lifting the cap would allow mergers among some of the six big national wireless carriers: Nextel, Sprint, Verizon, AT&T Wireless, VoiceStream and Cingular. With the cap, they would not have been able to combine without exceeding their airwaves limit, said David Kaut, an analyst at Legg Mason in Washington. ``When the cap is finally eliminated, deals that are not really feasible now will become possible,'' Kaut said. He said different combinations of companies might be tempted to make merger deals at the same time to avoid being blocked by the government. ``If two of the carriers combine, that could concentrate the market to a point where the Justice Department wouldn't let another big merger through,'' he said. Copyright 2001 The Associated Press