T-Mobile leases much of its 2.5 GHz spectrum from educational institutions around the country. And the carrier has made great efforts to keep the terms of these Educational Broadband Service (EBS) leases private. For instance, it is engaged in a dispute with Christian College of Georgia and demands that the college not reveal the terms of its lease.
But, a reporter for Religion News simply looked up the IRS Form 990 for Christian College of Georgia, which is a public record that must be filed by non-profit organizations. He reported that the college receives $55,000 per year for the lease of its 2.5 GHz spectrum.
Previously, Fierce Wireless reviewed letters sent from T-Mobile to some schools indicating the carrier really does not want the pricing terms of its leases revealed. T-Mobile considers the pricing terms to be “trade secrets.” One letter sent from T-Mobile’s law firm Williams & Connelly states, “Disclosure of this confidential information would affect T-Mobile’s standing in extremely competitive spectrum negotiations.”
The letters from T-Mobile’s law firm also said that access to T-Mobile’s 2.5 GHz leases are only known by fewer than .1% of T-Mobile employees. “Employees with access are educated as to the confidential and proprietary nature of the payment and pricing data in the Lease Agreement. Employees also undertake annual trainings on how to protect confidential and proprietary information. The Lease Agreement and its pricing terms are only accessible via a segregated T-Mobile data base."
The topic of T-Mobile’s leases is particularly sensitive right now because the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has scheduled Auction 108 of 2.5 GHz spectrum to begin July 29.
Verizon and AT&T had asked the FCC to force T-Mobile to reveal the terms of its 2.5 GHz leases with various educational institutions around the country. But the FCC has declined to do that.
Perhaps Verizon and AT&T — and any other potential bidders in Auction 108 — should simply check the IRS Form 990s of educational institutions who own 2.5 GHz spectrum in the counties they’re interested in as part of their due diligence.
Disputes with other schools
Christian College of Georgia isn’t the only school involved in a dispute with T-Mobile over the spectrum.
Light Reading reported today that the investment firm WCO Spectrum offered to buy the two licenses owned by the school board of St. Lucie County, Florida, for $7.6 million. But T-Mobile is arguing that the school board cannot sell the licenses to WCO.
Other schools that have reportedly had disputes with T-Mobile include Albright College in Pennsylvania and La Roche University in Pennsylvania.
Steve Sharkey, VP of government affairs, technology and engineering policy at T-Mobile, spoke at a Fierce Wireless panel at the Competitive Carriers’ Association (CCA) event this week. He was very complementary of the FCC’s auction rules established for the 2.5 GHz auction.
“The FCC really ended up in a good place on the auction rules,” Sharkey said, referring to the FCC’s decision to use an ascending clock format for the auction. T-Mobile had requested this format because it will allow the operator to more precisely target its bids.