Frontline: FCC should ban VZW from auction

The latest maneuvering in the increasingly contentious 700 MHz auction: Frontline Wireless wants the FCC to bar Verizon Wireless from the spectrum auction because it claims the carrier violated the FCC's lobbying rules. Within a filing for the FCC, Frontline's lawyers wrote: Verizon "wants to have it all... Verizon's tactic of making up procedures to suit its own needs should be firmly rejected."

Frontline claims that Verizon Wireless did not adequately disclose the content of the conversation its representatives had with FCC Chairman Kevin Martin and his staff on September 17. Companies are required to disclose a description of any communication they have with the FCC. Verizon's disclosure filing states that the carrier met to "discuss Verizon's positions" on the auction proceedings and that "all positions are consistent with those Verizon has placed on the record in the above proceeding."

The FCC requires that the disclosure forms include a summary of the substance of the conversation and not merely a listing of subjects discussed.

Verizon Wireless has already filed a lawsuit against the FCC over the open access provisions for the upcoming auction. Chairman Martin has since fought his fellow commissioners to overturn the open access rules, according to some reports. Frontline has also already filed a complaint with the FCC over the way the public safety spectrum license is set to be doled out.

For more on the auction drama:
- read this article from PC World