Alliance for Broadband Competition launches, seeks to avoid wireless duopoly

Taking up Verizon’s attempted purchase of SpectrumCo’s AWS spectrum as its headline issue, a number of carriers, businesses, and nonprofits have collaborated to launch the so-called Alliance for Broadband Competition today. Notably, both Sprint and T-Mobile USA are members of the Alliance — the third- and fourth-largest US nationals, both of which have raised vocal objections to recent industry moves — along with the Rural Cellular Association, which had emerged in recent months as a catch-all organization for companies opposing maneuvers on the parts of Verizon and AT&T.

Ultimately, the initial comments from the Alliance today closely follow filings and testimony that have already been made before the FCC and Congress, and it appears that the organization will be serving primarily as a PR clearinghouse for its members’ common policy goals. It may also allow the RCA to return to its proper roots — as a trade organization for rural carriers, not simply as a bandwagon for the anti-duopoly message.