en.Wedoany.com Reported - A group of rural wireless operators and consumer advocates has asked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to re-examine an already-approved $1 billion spectrum sale.

The FCC last month approved Verizon's purchase of spectrum licenses from Array Digital Infrastructure (formerly the fourth-largest U.S. carrier), a deal that closed on June 1. Through the transaction, Verizon acquired Array's AWS-1, AWS-3, and PCS licenses, covering approximately 8% of the U.S. population.

The deal was approved by the FCC's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau. A group led by the Rural Wireless Association (RWA) said in a filing Friday that it wants the commission's voting members to review the decision.

The RWA's primary concern is that major wireless carriers are consolidating too much spectrum, which could weaken rural operators' ability to compete and potentially impact their financial sustainability in some areas. The group has raised similar issues in other Array transactions. Array's mobile business and some spectrum have already gone to T-Mobile, while licenses worth $1 billion went to AT&T. The RWA also raised the same concerns in EchoStar's recent spectrum sale to AT&T.

"The cumulative effect of this transaction, along with the T-Mobile-UScellular and AT&T-Array deals, represents a structural shift leading to further spectrum consolidation among national wireless carriers," RWA outside attorneys Carri Bennet and Stephen Sharbaugh wrote in the filing.

The FCC, under Chairman Brendan Carr, has not shared these concerns, dismissing the group's arguments when approving the deal and has yet to act on its request to reconsider the related decision.

When approving the $23 billion EchoStar-AT&T deal in May, the agency stated that the operator would use the acquired spectrum to improve speeds and rural coverage, making it a stronger competitor against other major internet service providers.

In approving the Verizon deal, the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau argued that cable giants' mobile services (offered through MVNO agreements with Verizon itself) are competitors in the markets where the spectrum changes hands.

The RWA argues that the FCC commissioners themselves have not considered this stance, and therefore the bureau lacked the authority to approve the deal based on it, calling for a vote by the commission on the new policy issue.

Joining the group's petition are the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society and New America's Open Technology Institute.

These groups once had a supporter at the Department of Justice. Former antitrust chief Gail Slater said last summer, after her agency approved the Array deal, that she remained concerned about spectrum consolidation in the wireless industry. Slater reportedly resigned in February due to disagreements with Trump administration cabinet officials.

Also on Friday, the RWA told the FCC it was concerned to see EchoStar withdraw its objection questioning whether T-Mobile was actually using the spectrum it plans to sell to Grain Management. EchoStar said in its objection last year that after conducting drive tests in Wisconsin and Tennessee, it found "no evidence of T-Mobile transmissions on the 800 MHz band in those cities," which would violate FCC rules. The company acknowledged no evidence that the licenses were unused but asked the FCC to resolve the issue before approving the sale. EchoStar then withdrew its objection late last month without explanation.

"Without such an explanation, the withdrawal creates an appearance that factors unrelated to the merits may be influencing the outcome of this proceeding, potentially harming competition and the public interest," Bennet wrote. "If T-Mobile or the Commission has alleviated EchoStar's concerns about T-Mobile's operation (or lack thereof) of its 800 MHz licenses, such information should be part of the public record before any final decision on the proposed transfer of these licenses to Grain."

The RWA is also uneasy about the proposed Grain deal and has told the FCC it fears the investment firm will hoard spectrum or sell it to larger operators. EchoStar declined to comment, and a T-Mobile spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Grain representatives have been meeting with FCC staff in recent weeks and filing ex parte letters on the proposed deal. Grain and T-Mobile said earlier this year that, in addition to initially planned rural operators and utilities, Grain would sell or lease spectrum to satellite companies for direct-to-device services. In a meeting with FCC staff on Thursday, Grain representatives said the company would hire at least one consulting firm to help structure the process of soliciting and reviewing proposals from satellite operators. "Grain added that when evaluating proposals submitted as part of a competitive process, it will assess them based on two overarching criteria: their commercial value and the ability to deploy the spectrum within the timeline set by the Commission upon approving the transaction," the company wrote in a filing Friday.

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