FCC bureau chief has questions for Verizon

Verizon's announcement of plans to sell spectrum it hasn't yet used has provoked questions from Federal Communications Commission staff.

The company announced last month that it would sell licenses it holds for spectrum in the 700 MHz band if the FCC approves a $3.6 billion deal between Verizon and SpectrumCo, a consortium made up of cable companies Comcast, Time Warner and Bright House Networks, to allow Verizon to buy spectrum licenses from the cable companies and for the companies to cross-sell each other's services. Verizon has a separate deal with Cox Communications, which also owned a block of spectrum.

But Wireless Telecommunications Bureau chief Rick Kaplan wants to know if Verizon has taken any steps to build out the 700 MHz network it promised it would build when it won the licenses at auction in 2008.

In a letter to Verizon general counsel John Scott, Kaplan asks about the timetable Verizon has set for building out networks on the spectrum. Winners of the 2008 auctions were required to build out a network by 2013 or face a reduction in the term of their license.

Kaplan also asks about the "relevance" of plans to sell its licenses to the SpectrumCo deal, and if Verizon would abandon plans to sell the spectrum if the SpectrumCo deal isn't approved.

Verizon must submit responses to Kaplan's questions by May 22, he said.

A Verizon spokesman said the company had no comment on today's letter.

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