US Senate panel probing US$3 billion 'collusion concern' in spectrum auction

[WASHINGTON] The US Senate Commerce Committee said on Wednesday it was probing what it called concerns of collusion in a Federal Communications Commission auction of airwaves.

"The Committee has significant questions about whether conduct surrounding the bidding strategies employed by DISH Network and two affiliates adhered to both the letter and intent of the law," the committee chairman, John Thune, said in a letter requesting documents on the bidding.

US regulators on Wednesday began allowing critics to formally voice opposition to awarding US$3.3 billion in small-business discounts to partners of Dish Network Corp that emerged as winning bidders in a record-setting auction of airwaves.

REUTERS