MMTC Says SoftBank Needs to Weigh In on Diversity

Argues FCC needs to get answers from company in deal involving major concentration of spectrum

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 6/4/2013 11:16:43 AM

The Minority Media and Telecommunications council has asked the FCC to collect additional information from SoftBank on its commitment to diversity before it decides whether to let it acquire Sprint, which includes the spectrum Sprint recently acquired from the Clearwire cable consortium.

MMTC points out that the deal would create the largest broadband spectrum holding in U.S. history. "It has the potential to have a significant impact on minority communities, who constitute almost 40% of the users of mobile services and are often more highly dependent on mobile communications services than other groups in this country."

It also says SoftBank's public interest statement was essentially mute on the diversity issue, and suggested it was giving SoftBank a chance to quickly -- MMTC said it would take only a day or two -- to flesh out its record on diversity issues. MMTC offered up a series of questions that the FCC should want answers to.

Sprint has countered that the request, which was made in a May 28 letter to FCC chairwoman Mignon Clyburn, is a "flagrantly untimely" attempt to introduce additional issues that MMTC had the opportunity to raise in initial comments, but did not.

Diversity and broadband access to minority populations, who are particularly heavy users of mobile broadband, are two important issues for the chairwoman.

Sprint also points out that the letter came on the 179th day of the FCC's informal 180-day shot clock on vetting the transaction. "MMTC has tossed a handful of darts at the well-developed record of this proceeding in the hope that one hits," the company said.

In response, MMTC said Tuesday that "rather than criticize MMTC's letter, SoftBank should take advantage of the opening provided by our letter to quickly fill in these key gaps in the public record."

MMTC said it is not taking a position on the deal, but added that if SoftBank does not "flesh out" its diversity commitment, that "may compel the agency to conclude that the company either cannot or will not address these important public interest issues....Any party proposing to acquire this country's third largest wireless carrier should be ready and willing to answer these basic questions going to diversity and service to historically unserved and underserved communities."

MMTC said it had put the same questions to Dish, which has made a counter offer for Sprint.

MMTC did not directly address the charge that it should have raised the issue in the initial comment period, but did say that "MMTC hopes that, instead of attempting to divert the Commission's attention with formulaic arguments as to timing, SoftBank realizes that it is asking the Commission to be let into a select group...Years later, when our children look back on this episode, the 'when and how' these questions were raised will not matter. Shot clocks won't be mentioned. Instead, what will endure is how these questions were answered, and the impact of the actions taken attendant to them on consumer welfare and competition."