FCC Takes a Jab at Verizon CEO Over Spectrum
For the FCC, it’s starting to get personal.
The agency took a rare shot at Verizon Communications (VZ) CEO Ivan Seidenberg on Thursday, calling him out by name for comments earlier this week that cast doubt on whether carriers need as much spectrum as the government wants to give them.
In its National Broadband Plan, released last month, the FCC said it planned to free up a sizable 500 MHz of spectrum by 2020 for wireless carriers like AT&T (T) and Verizon Wireless, which Verizon jointly owns with Vodafone Group. Much of that will come from TV broadcasters, and the move was widely seen as a coup for carriers who have been calling for more airwaves to meet growing data traffic from customers surfing the Web, watching videos and using applications on their phones.
