Pai Says FCC Took Too Long to Approve Alaska Spectrum Pact
The FCC approved a deal by General Communication Inc. and Alaska Communications to share spectrum and form the Alaska Wireless Network (AWN), a limited liability company that will hold and operate both companies’ wireless facilities. Alaska’s largest wireless operators unveiled the deal in June 2012 (CD June 6/12 p10). Commissioner Ajit Pai released a statement late Monday asking why approval took so long.
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Under the terms released last year, both companies will turn their spectrum licenses, cell sites, backhaul facilities, switching systems and other assets over to AWN. GCI also agreed to buy $100 million of wireless assets from Alaska Communications and contribute them to AWN. But both are to retain independent retail operations. The companies told the FCC they need to merge assets to take on national carriers, including AT&T, which is already active in Alaska, and Verizon Wireless, which is expanding its operations there.
The order said the Alaska market and the deal itself are complicated. “There are very specific market conditions affecting the provision of mobile services in Alaska, including its isolated geographic location outside the contiguous 48 states, its statewide population of only about 710,000, its significant areas of extremely low population density, and its challenging operating conditions,” the order said (http://bit.ly/15Hkm21).
In the end, the FCC approved the transactions, while imposing a few conditions, including requiring compliance with commercially sensitive information sharing policies. “We find that, to the extent that the proposed transaction may result in potential competitive harms in Alaska, these potential competitive harms -- when subject to specific safeguard conditions -- are outweighed by public interest benefits likely to result in Alaska from the proposed transaction,” said the order. “Such benefits include network efficiencies from infrastructure consolidation, expanded coverage and improved service throughout Alaska, and increased competitiveness from a timely transition to LTE."
Pai said the order shows why Congress needs to impose a 180-day shot clock on the agency for completing such reviews. “Our informal transaction shot clock is 180 days, but we did not resolve this transaction until day 275,” he said. “Parties seeking Commission approval for their transactions deserve to know when they will get an answer. There’s nothing like a real deadline to keep us on track."
Acting Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn said the FCC acted in a reasonable timeframe. “The FCC has approved 95 percent of transaction applications within the 180-day informal timeline,” she said. “Careful review is, however, especially important in a transaction like this one, which combines the facilities of two of the largest carriers that have long served Alaska. Of course, our ability to act expeditiously depends in large part on the responsiveness of the parties to the application.” She said she’s “pleased” the agency approved the deal “within two weeks of the parties’ providing final amended language to protect against the inappropriate use of competitively sensitive information.”