Week ahead: FCC sets stage for spectrum auction

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler is expected to propose a package of rules for the upcoming spectrum auction.

Wheeler is planning to urge the commission to reject T-Mobile’s request that more spectrum be set aside for small carriers, according to reports. AT&T and Verizon, the largest players in wireless, will not be able to bid on the reserved spectrum in certain markets.

Wheeler declined to tip his hand at Thursday’s open meeting, but did suggest that the simple existence of the spectrum reserve was a victory for competition in and of itself.

{mosads}“Some people want more. Some people want less,” he said. “But the important thing is that there exists for the first time a set-aside, a reserve to make sure that there is the capacity for equality of competition among wireless carriers. That’s the key point.”

That decision would be a blow to T-Mobile, which has publicly called for a larger reserve of spectrum, including bringing bombastic CEO John Legere to talk to regulators in Washington and bring the issue to customers. In a new video, Legere bluntly declared: “There’s some serious s— to go down in D.C.”

AT&T and Verizon have cried foul on T-Mobile’s campaign. AT&T said in a blog post that T-Mobile was “misleading policymakers” with its arguments.

Elsewhere in Washington, on Tuesday, a Senate Appropriations subcommittee will dig into the Office of Personnel Management’s spending on information technology and data security after the hack of millions of current and former government employees’ records.

The office’s director, Katherine Archuleta, and its inspector general will testify before the subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government.

The Senate Homeland Security Committee will also look into the hack during a Thursday hearing.

Archuleta has faced calls from House lawmakers for her to step down after the massive hack.

And John Oliver, the host of HBO’s “Last Week Tonight,” is highlighting another tech-related issue, tackling online revenge porn on his show Sunday.

Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) is introducing legislation that would ban the practice of posting sexually explicit images without consent online.

Speier was not interviewed for the segment on Oliver’s show, but her staff helped provide information on the issue.

Oliver has highlighted a number of tech issues in the past year, including net neutrality, patent reform and government surveillance.

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