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Google Challenges Verizon Over Lobbying Of FCC

Rollback of "open access" requirements faulted

by Martin H. Bosworth
ConsumerAffairs.com

October 5, 2007

The search giant sent a letter to the FCC alleging that representatives from Verizon Wireless, in a Sept. 17th meeting with FCC chairman Kevin Martin, heavily lobbied to reverse the "open access" requirement of the auction, which would enable wireless subscribers to use any handset to connect to any network they wish.

The actual content of the meeting was not disclosed until several days after it took place, and Martin is alleged to be reversing his stance on the open access rules in the wake of the meeting--a stance he had previously supported.

"This only undermines the ability of interested parties to assess and respond meaningfully to important legal and policy arguments, as intended under the FCC’s ex parte rules," wrote Google's telecom counsel Richard Whitt.

"That some interested parties have managed to piece together something of the substance of the undisclosed discussions between Verizon and the FCC does not cure the improprieties."

Verizon's lobbying efforts followed the company's filing a lawsuit to overturn the "open access" rules, which the telecom called "arbitrary, capricious, unsupported by substantial evidence, and otherwise contrary to law."

The upcoming wireless spectrum auction could raise billions of dollars for the federal government, as well as provide the auction winners new avenues to develop wireless broadband services.

While incumbent telecoms such as AT&T and Verizon have pushed for the auction to have no strings attached, Google, tech policy advocates and startups such as Frontline Wireless wanted the auction to forge the foundation of new third-party wireless Internet service, offering a "third pipe" alternative to existing cable and telecom Internet services.

Google agreed to put up $4.6 billion for its bid in the auction if the rules satisfied its four requirements for complete open access. The FCC compromise rules only met two of those requirements, and Google has not publicly committed to bidding in the auction as of yet.

Too friendly to Ma Bell's kids?

Google's charges have renewed criticism of the FCC for being too friendly to incumbent telecom companies and supporting their needs at the expense of consumers.

Critics say FCC chair Martin has regularly gone out of his way to push legislation that would benefit the major telecoms, such as national video franchising rights and the megamerger of AT&T with BellSouth.

The telecom companies argue that they are investing billions of dollars in network upgrades and must have clear rules that make the risk tolerable.

A recent investigation by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that not only did the FCC grant telecoms and businesses more access to its rulings than consumers and consumer groups, but that the FCC rulings were often solely based on data provided by the very same telecoms and industry groups.

According to the GAO report, several stakeholders in FCC rulings "knew when proposed rules were scheduled for an upcoming vote well before FCC released the agenda to the public because they hear this information from FCC bureau staff and commissioner staff. This advance information is not supposed to be disclosed outside of FCC."

"FCC officials said that they do not usually conduct their own studies in support of rulemaking issues," the report continued. "Instead, they rely mostly on external stakeholders to submit this information into the public record, and FCC staff analyze the information."

It's hardly a secret that lobbyists enjoy special access to the government officials they wheel and deal in hopes of getting laws passed, and government officials often exchange public service careers for lucrative lobbying jobs with the same companies.

FCC commissioners were grilled by a House Committee in March 2007 about allegations the commission has not done enough to protect consumers.

Richard Whitt reiterated Google's call for the FCC to support the open access requirements in the auction and not bend to backdoor lobbying efforts.

"[O]nly with consumer-driven devices on an open network can this significant, decades-long imbalance of interests have any chance of being righted," he wrote. "American consumers deserve an environment where independent companies and entrepreneurs for the first time can bring their innovative applications and mobile devices to an open marketplace."

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