AWS-3 Auction 'Disaster' for Wireless Consumers, T-Mobile's Legere Says

The AWS-3 auction may have been “a success” for the U.S. Treasury, but “it was a disaster for American wireless consumers,” T-Mobile President John Legere wrote in a blog post Wednesday. “AT&T and Verizon showed that they can, and will, dig into their deep pockets to corner the market on available spectrum at nearly any cost. To add insult to injury, the FCC’s rules actually allowed companies that don’t provide wireless service at all to buy up huge amounts of spectrum and sit on it for ten years! The results are not good for consumers.” Three companies spent “an insane” $42 billion, buying “a ridiculous 94 percent of the spectrum sold at this auction,” he wrote. Rules for the next auction “should be focused on fostering competition in the US wireless industry and doing what’s right for the American consumer,” said Legere. The agency had no immediate response.