NAB Backs T-Mobile/MetroPCS Merger

Says it is part of wireless industry remake to address spectrum availability issues

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 2/12/2013 5:08:52 PM

In further evidence of the thawing relationship between broadcasters and wireless operators, the National Association of Broadcasters has asked the FCC to approve the T-Mobile/MetroPCS merger, according to a source that is the first time NAB has endorsed a wireless merger.

T-Mobile is one of the wireless carriers that the NAB teamed up with to endorse a framework for the incentive auction band plan..

In a letter to FCC chairman Julius Genachowski, NAB president Gordon Smith urged the commission to approve the merger, saying it was further evidence that the free market was the route to "purported spectrum challenges."

NAB calls it just the latest in a series of wireless deals that "will make more effective and efficient use of commercial spectrum." NAB has argued that the marketplace, including through secondary market deals, is addressing the alleged spectrum crunch that the FCC is targeting through incentive auctions.

Smith praised the wireless industry for "remaking itself in the face of an unexpected challenge," and said it suggested that was addressing many of the concerns that drove the debate on spectrum to focus on reclaiming it "from others."