On January 18th, RTG and others sent a letter to Chairman Genachowski requesting that the FCC direct the applicants to produce all of the agreements referred to in Verizon’s SEC filing, Comcast’s press release, and any similar agreements between Verizon and Cox, along with any applicable schedules and supporting documentation necessary for the FCC and the public to fully grasp and understand the scope of the transactions and ongoing agreements.
Verizon and Comcast have announced that the SpectrumCo owners and Verizon have “entered into several agreements, providing for the sale of various products and services.” Through these agreements, the companies “will become agents to sell one another’s products and, over time, the cable companies will have the option of selling Verizon Wireless’ service on a wholesale basis. Additionally, the cable companies and Verizon Wireless have formed an innovation technology joint venture for the development of technology to better integrate wireline and wireless products and services.” Accordingly, we believe that the applications in this proceeding can only be fairly reviewed in the entirety of the proposed transactions.
Others signing the letter along with RTG include:
- C Spire Wireless
- Computer & Communications Industry Association
- Consumer Federation of America
- DIRECTV
- Free Press
- Media Access Project
- New America Foundation
- NTELOS Holdings Corp.
- Public Knowledge
- Rural Cellular Association
- Rural Telecommunications Group, Inc.
- Sprint Nextel Corporation
- T-Mobile USA, Inc.
Following this request, Verizon, SpectrumCo and Cox have agreed to make the agreements available under the terms of an FCC protective order.