Verizon: Dish & Companies Colluded on AWS-3 Auction Bids

Verizon has alleged that Dish illegally colluded with designated entities (DE's) Northstar Wireless and SNR Wireless during the ASW-3 auction bidding, according to ex parte notifications of meetings it held with top Federal Communications Commission officials.

Dish counters that it complied with all legal requirements, including antitrust laws. The FCC is now deciding whether those latter two companies should get billions in bidding credits given that they were essentially bidding with Dish dollars -- Dish owns a majority stake in both companies. The collusion charge came in meetings between Verizon executives and FCC commissioners and other staffers. Accompanying the Verizon group was Duke economics professor Leslie Marx, who offered up an analysis of the relationship between the companies she said provided evidence of collusion in violation of antitrust laws and FCC rules. Among the allegations were suppression of rivalry, distortion of information, allocation of markets and more.