Verizon’s $4 Billion Spectrum Deal: Public Knowledge On How It Hurts Consumers, Competition

Last year ,Verizon announced it would purchase mobile spectrum licenses from several cable companies for about $4 billion. Competitors think this will give Verizon too much power and hurt competition.

Complaints from T-Mobile USA, Sprint Nextel, Public Knowledge, and the National Consumer Law Center have been filed with the FCC, trying to get Verizon’s efforts blocked.

WebProNews interviewed Public Knowledge staff attorney Jodie Griffin about the situation. She says it could be “to the detriment of smaller wireless carriers and to the detriment of consumers”.

Watch the interview above for more on the Public Knowledge side of the story. Griffin also addresses the spectrum auctions that are part of the payroll tax cut bill.

For more on the auctions, check out our exclusive interview with Bruce Mehlman, the former Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Tech Policy and the Co-Chair of the Internet Innovation Alliance.

Verizon’s deal is under review from both the FCC and the DoJ.