FCC sources confirm that Dish chairman Charlie Ergen is
planning to meet with commissioners and staff Thursday to talk about the FCC's
proposal to allow Dish and others to use satellite spectrum for terrestrial
broadband.
Dish was denied a waiver request to use its spectrum for a
terrestrial 4G net while the FCC teed up a broader reform of its rules, but was
unhappy when the result included restrictions on use of the spectrum to protect
adjacent spectrum the FCC plans to auction to open up even more real estate for
wireless broadband.
Dish has said those restrictions could cripple its plans to
launch that network, while the FCC has suggested that Dish simply wants to
wants to destroy the value of adjacent spectrum the restrictions are meant to
protect in order to reap a private windfall.
According to a highly placed source, at least two of the
five commissioners have already voted to approve the item, though that is one
short of the needed three. At least one commissioner has not voted the item in
part so they can first hear Ergen make his case, according to the source.
A Dish spokesperson had not returned a request for comment
at presstime.
