Verizon: Dish Coordinated Bidding In Spectrum Auction Went Too Far

By Ryan Knutson 

Verizon Communications Inc. says rival Dish Network Corp.'s coordinated bidding with two affiliated entities in an Federal Communications Commission spectrum auction went too far and may have violated the agency's rules.

The complaint, voiced in a filing with the commission late Friday, adds a new wrinkle to the debate over Dish's aggressive strategy in the record auction that drew $45 billion worth of bids and closed in January.

Rivals have already complained that Dish distorted the results and unfairly claimed $3.3 billion in discounts set aside for small businesses. Now, Verizon is alleging that the company's complex bidding strategy may have violated antitrust rules.

Dish has said it followed the FCC's rules and that the auction was fair. Some analysts have said in the end that Dish's entities submitted winning bids that rivals could have topped had they chosen to and that the auction's record $45 billion in bids accurately reflected demand for spectrum amid a surge in wireless Internet use.

We are confident that we fully complied with all legal requirements," a Dish spokesman said, "including antitrust law."

Write to Ryan Knutson at [e-mail]

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