T-Mobile CEO calls spectrum reserve of any size ‘significant win’

Just the existence of a block of airwaves set aside for smaller carriers in an upcoming spectrum auction is a “significant win,” T-Mobile’s chief executive said Thursday, with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reportedly poised to deny the company’s request to expand the reserve.

Thirty megahertz of spectrum — the wireless airwaves that carry signals to mobile devices — will be reserved for smaller wireless carriers in the auction next year. T-Mobile has asked the FCC to expand the size of the reserve to 40 MHz, saying that would allow small providers to be more competitive with AT&T and Verizon.

{mosads}“There’s a tremendous amounts [sic] of things still to be done [on the incentive auction]. It seems to be remaining on track. For the first time ever in an auction, there will be a reserve set aside for the small carriers, which is a big success. There is a remaining question if it’s 30 or 40 MHz. That’s a significant win,” CEO John Legere said on an earnings call, according to news website Katy on the Hill. “I’m pushing for the 40.”

But Legere’s comments were softer than the rhetoric the company has employed in its campaign to rally public support for the proposal.

In a video last month, he painted the stakes as more dire. Appealing to users, he said that AT&T and Verizon were ”pushing the government to look the other way while they play keep-away with your mobile future by once again dominating a government spectrum auction.”

Bloomberg News reported last week that FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s recommendation that the agency deny T-Mobile’s request had gained the support of a majority of the five commissioners. They are expected to vote on it next week, after consideration of the recommendation was removed from the agenda of the agency’s July open meeting.

Wheeler has said that the FCC must balance the needs of all participants in the auction, and has painted the existence of a reserve of 30 MHz as a victory for competition.