T-Mobile vows to keep up fight on wireless auction rules

T-Mobile pledged Friday to fight Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler’s recommendation against increasing the amount of wireless spectrum reserved for smaller carriers in an upcoming auction.

“I am asking you to reconsider and stand strong for American consumers,” CEO John Legere wrote in a letter to the commission.

He added that he “will continue to fight on behalf of all wireless consumers.”

{mosads}“This decision is too important to the future of competition for me to ignore,” said the outspoken T-Mobile chief. “Consumers deserve choice.”

The commission has set aside 30 megahertz of wireless spectrum, the airwaves that carry signals to mobile devices, exclusively for smaller wireless carriers like T-Mobile.

That move was aimed at keeping AT&T and Verizon from dominating the auction. But T-Mobile requested that spectrum reserve spectrum be increased to 40 megahertz, which it says would allow more than one small provider to compete in every market.

Wheeler’s plan, announced Thursday, rejects T-Mobile’s request and keeps the reserve at 30 megahertz. The plan still has to be approved by the commission’s five members,

Legere’s letter cites small gestures of support for setting aside more spectrum from lawmakers and the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division.

In recent weeks, Legere and T-Mobile have mounted an aggressive and public lobbying campaign for a larger reserve. But The Washington Post reported on Thursday that aides on Capitol Hill and at the FCC were looking warily on the effort.