The FCC has denied a request by Public Knowledge and the
Rural Telecommunications Group that the FCC not restart its shot clock on the
Verizon–SpectrumCo deal on July 10 as planned.
The groups had petitioned the commission to move the
deadline for comments on the impact of the Verizon–T-Mobile spectrum swap onthe SpectrumCo deal
from July 10 to July 24, saying it needed more time and citing the July 4
holiday as one reason. The FCC had stopped its informal 180-day shot clock on
vetting the SpectrumCo deal until July 10 so that commenters could weigh in on
Verizon–T-Mobile.
"We are not persuaded, under the circumstances outlined in
the Motion, that Public Knowledge and RTG have shown good cause that granting
the Motion for an extension of time would serve the public interest," the
FCC's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau said in denying the request. "The
Commission has an obligation to review the transactions proposed in the Verizon
Wireless/SpectrumCo/Cox Applications as expeditiously as possible, consistent
with the public interest," the commission said.
The FCC is on day 138 of its 180-day shot clock, though that
is not a hard deadline. It is in day 13 of its vetting of the Verizon–T-Mobile
spectrum swap, which is contingent on approval of the SpectrumCo deal since it
includes some of the spectrum that Verizon is trying to buy from Comcast, Time
Warner Cable, Cox and Bright House for about $3.9 billion.
