F.C.C. plan would avoid a delay of license auction
Article Abstract:
The FCC is proposing a plan that it hopes will extricate it from a legal struggle over the federal agency's scheme to set aside wireless telephone licenses for minorities, small businesses and women. The plan stipulates that the FCC make an exception, under its small-business rules, for a rural phone company in Mississippi. The Telephone Electronics Corp of Jackson, MI, went to court contending special mandates such as these are preferential and unconstitutional. The FCC is planning to offer 500 licenses at an auction in Jun 1995 for PCS (Personal Communication Services). Telephone Electronics has agreed to drop its lawsuit in exchange for the exception, which would allow the auction to continue without a lengthy trial delay. The FCC is supporting a bargain proposed by Telephone Electronics, which grants the company a special waiver from the rules. It now qualifies for small-business bidding discounts of up to 10% on a limited number of licenses.
Publication Name: The New York Times
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0362-4331
Year: 1995
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Cellular industry's party could end soon; companies brace for stiff competition even as good times roll
Article Abstract:
The cellular telephone industry's annual convention reveals that cellular growth continues at a rapid pace, but it faces competition from emerging personal communications service (PCS) providers. Revenues from cellular phones increased 34% to $19 billion in 1995, and the number of cellular users totaled 33.8 million, a 40% increase. Despite these positive numbers, cellular providers are worried by the example of Sprint, whose Spectrum PCS service grew from zero to 60,000 clients in three months. PCS services offer a range of services, including voice mail, caller ID and built-in paging, at prices below cellular rates. Cellular providers are reluctant to cut prices, and analysis indicates that cellular rates dropped only slightly in 1995. In part, that reluctance stems from the investment the companies have made in wireless networks, $4 billion in capital investment in 1995 alone, exclusive of the $9 billion spent to buy licenses from the FCC.
Publication Name: The New York Times
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0362-4331
Year: 1996
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Phone auction bidder reports aid from big cable executive
Article Abstract:
The FCC's auction of personal communication service licenses is supposed to be limited to small businesses, but one of the heaviest bidders, John Dolan's North Coast Mobile Communications, may be flouting this requirement. Under pressure from the government and other bidders to reveal the source of its funds, the company admitted that its money came from loans guaranteed by John Dolan's uncle, Cablevision Systems Chmn Charles F. Dolan. The younger Dolan was an employee of Cablevision Systems before leaving in 1995 to start North Coast Mobile Communications. The FCC auctions have been criticized for lax rules regarding company size, and North Coast is not the only bidder with big business backers. FCC officials say any investigation into compliance with small business rules will occur after the auction is completed.
Publication Name: The New York Times
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0362-4331
Year: 1996
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