NEW YORK - The House Committee on Energy and Commerce's two key GOP members have forwarded Federal Communications Commission chair Kevin Martin a letter calling for the FCC to drop its proposed porn-free broadband service, to be run by the winner of a spectrum auction.
"It seems to us that your proposed auction conditions are going to discourage certain parties from bidding," ranking Energy Committee members Joe Barton (R-TX) and Cliff Stearns (R-FL) wrote to the Commission Chair on June 30. "Our understanding is that there are more than 40 small, medium, and large carriers that would be interested in bidding on the spectrum if it didn't have the service conditions."
Despite considerable opposition, the FCC launched a proceeding last month on whether the agency should offer the service in the 2155-2180MHz band, a zone of the so-called Advanced Wireless Services 3 (AWS-3) spectrum, ARS Technica reported.
The auction winner would sift out the adult stream and provide it to the country within the next decade. Five percent of gross revenues would be handed over every year to the U.S. Treasury.
Barton and Stearns' letter illustrates concern that the proposed service will cause interference in the nearby AWS-1 spectrum area. The congress members also feel Martin's proposal tailors the AWS-3 region "largely to the business model of a single party."
