https://www.channelfutures.com/wp-content/themes/channelfutures_child/assets/images/logo/footer-new-logo.png
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • SDN/SD-WAN
    • Cloud
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Telephony/UC/Collaboration
    • Cable
    • Mobility & Wireless
    • Fiber/Ethernet
    • Data Centers
    • Backup & Disaster Recovery
    • IoT
    • Desktop
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Analytics
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Channel Research
    • Business Models
    • Distribution
    • Master Agents
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Best Practices
    • Vertical Markets
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • Diversity & Inclusion
  • MSSP Insider
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • Apply Now
    • 2020 MSP 501 Rankings
    • 2020 Hot 101 Rankings
    • 2020 MSP 501 Report
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • From the Industry
    • Reports/Digital Issues
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Channel Educational Series
  • EMEA
  • Channel Chatter
    • Back
    • People on the Move
    • New/Changing Channel Programs
    • New Products & Services
    • Industry Honors
    • Channel Convergence
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Advisory Boards
    • Industry Organizations
    • Our Sponsors
    • Content Resources
  • Awards
    • Back
    • 2021 MSP 501
    • Circle of Excellence
    • Excellence in Digital Services
    • Top Gun 51
  • Events
    • Back
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • Channel Evolution Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
    • Industry Events
  • DE&I
Channel Futures
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • SDN/SD-WAN
    • Cloud
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Telephony/UC/Collaboration
    • Cable
    • Mobility & Wireless
    • Fiber/Ethernet
    • Data Centers
    • Backup & Disaster Recovery
    • IoT
    • Desktop
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Analytics
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Channel Research
    • Business Models
    • Distribution
    • Master Agents
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Best Practices
    • Vertical Markets
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • Diversity & Inclusion
  • MSSP Insider
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • Apply Now
    • 2020 MSP 501 Rankings
    • 2020 Hot 101 Rankings
    • 2020 MSP 501 Report
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • From the Industry
    • Reports/Digital Issues
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Channel Educational Series
  • EMEA
  • Channel Chatter
    • Back
    • People on the Move
    • New/Changing Channel Programs
    • New Products & Services
    • Industry Honors
    • Channel Convergence
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Advisory Boards
    • Industry Organizations
    • Our Sponsors
    • Content Resources
  • Awards
    • Back
    • 2021 MSP 501
    • Circle of Excellence
    • Excellence in Digital Services
    • Top Gun 51
  • Events
    • Back
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • Channel Evolution Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
    • Industry Events
  • DE&I
    • Newsletter
  • REGISTER
  • MSPs
  • VARs / SIs
  • Agents
  • Cloud Service Providers
  • Channel Partners Events
 Channel Futures

Regulation & Compliance


Shutterstock

Bankruptcy Court

Verizon to Pay Gigantic, Record Fine as Straight Path Acquisition Closes

  • Written by James Anderson
  • March 1, 2018
Straight Path officially became part of Verizon on the same day the fine came down.

**Editor’s Note: Please click here for a recap of the biggest channel-impacting merger and acquisition news from January.**

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has fined Verizon and one of its subsidiaries $614 million.

The government agency announced Thursday that Verizon is paying up for Straight Path Communications’ failure to use spectrum licenses allotted to it by the FCC. This comes on the same day as Verizon completes its acquisition of Straight Path.

It’s the largest civil penalty for a settlement in the history of the FCC.

The FCC said Straight Path possessed more than 1,000 licenses for 28 GHz and 39 GHz millimeter wave spectrum bands, which will be used to deploy 5G. Last year (prior to the acquisition announcement) the Chief Enforcement Bureau of the FCC dinged Straight Path for representing itself as fulfilling “build-out requirements”  for the 39 GHz services it was provisioned to perform. The two parties settled that case in January 2017.

“Straight Path admits that an internal investigation determined that the equipment deployed in connection with the build-out of its 39 GHz spectrum band licenses was put in place only for a short period of time and that a significant amount of the installed equipment was no longer present at the original locations at the time of the investigation. In short, the investigation found that Straight Path had not actually deployed equipment with any permanency,” read a statement from the Bureau.

Straight Path agreed to sell those licenses and “remit 20 percent of the overall proceeds of the transaction to the U.S. Treasury.” Straight Path paid the treasury $15 million, which is separate from the fine Verizon is shouldering.

BREAKING: As a result of a settlement between Straight Path and the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau, and the FCC’s approval of the Straight Path/Verizon transaction last month, this morning Straight Path and Verizon paid a civil penalty to the U.S. Treasury of $614.3 million.

— Matthew Berry (@matthewberryfcc) February 28, 2018

Verizon purchased Straight Path for $3.1 billion after outbidding AT&T. Verizon targeted Straight Path largely for its copious amount of spectrum. Jon Brodkin of ARS Technica writes that the Competitive Carriers Association resisted the acquisition because it would harm small carriers trying to deploy 5G in rural areas.

“Consumer advocacy groups also called for the license to be auctioned, saying that an auction would generate revenue for the Treasury and make sure the spectrum is awarded to companies that value it most highly,” Brodkin said.

A Verizon spokesperson would not comment on the fine to Reuters, saying that “he settlement resolved conduct from before Verizon’s announced acquisition.”

For the nitty-gritty details of the settlement, read the FCC’s announcement, its memorandum concerning Verizon, and the settlement between Straight Path and the FCC.

Tags: Agents Mergers and Acquisitions Mobility & Wireless Regulation & Compliance

Related


  • Judge and Gavel
    Judge: Charter Must Pay Windstream $19 Million for 'Egregious,' Deceptive Mailer
    The judge said Charter "intentionally and wrongfully" interfered with Windstream's customer contracts and good will.
  • Channel Chief Nameplate
    AT&T, Telarus, MicroCorp Vet to Lead RSI's Channel
    The MSSP entered the channel in early 2019.
  • Merge road sign
    Agents Voice Concerns, Hopes for Master Agent Consolidation
    Subagents weigh in on how mergers and acquisitions could impact them long-term.
  • Cloud on mobile devices
    AT&T Adds Mobile Cloud PBX to RingCentral-Powered Collaboration Solution
    The carrier has been partnering with RingCentral around unified communication for several years.

2 comments

  1. Avatar Rob McCarthy September 2, 2018 @ 2:33 pm
    Reply

    Verizon has proven itself to be nothing more than a bunch of thieving low lifes over and over again. They seem to operate as a mob which is overseen by remnants of the third reich.

  2. Avatar Rob McCarthy January 22, 2019 @ 12:06 pm
    Reply

    In Seattle we have a Seahawks player who they are talking about sending to prison for a 1.4 million insider trading deal. He admitted his guilt, made restitution and is a fine young man. Remember, insider trading was legal for legislators until a few years ago. Verizon has continually been fined, in the millions, In 2015 they were fined 90 million for “illegal billing practices,” (billing customers, including me after the fine, for goods and services which they had not received,) and their latest was an FCC record six hundred and fourteen million. No prison time has occured. It seems to me that there is something terribly wrong with this picture.

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your Channel Futures account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • The CF List: 20 Top UCaaS Providers You Should Know
  • SMBs Weigh 5G Impact as Verizon, AWS Launch New Use Cases
  • Top 20 Channel Stories in March: Telarus, Synnex-Tech Data, Microsoft Hack
  • AT&T Partner Solutions Taps New Partner Exchange, Wholesale VPs

Galleries

View all

Biden Administration Issues Russian Sanctions in Response to SolarWinds Hack, Election Interference

April 16, 2021

Industry Perspectives

View all

Why Digital Transformation Is the ‘Invisible Hand’ of Our Time

April 19, 2021

SD-WAN Supports More Purposeful Shift to Cloud

April 16, 2021

How Tech Is Transforming Public Safety–and the Implications for Channel Partners

April 15, 2021

Webinars

View all

What to Look For: 2021 Threat Report

April 22, 2021

Health Care and SD-WAN: A Seller’s Guide

April 27, 2021

How MSPs Can Leverage SOCaaS to Improve Security & Grow Revenue

May 4, 2021

White Papers

View all

Carbonite Data Protection and Cyber Resilience

April 15, 2021

Top Tips: How Resellers Can Leverage Rackspace to Enhance Customer’s Cyber Security Protection with Microsoft 365 Security

March 30, 2021

Top Tips: Optimize Your Microsoft 365 Investment with Rackspace Technology

March 30, 2021

Upcoming Events

View all

MSP Summit

November 1, 2021 - November 2, 2021

Channel Partners Conference & Expo

November 1, 2021 - November 4, 2021

Channel Evolution Europe

November 30, 2021 - December 1, 2021

Videos and Fastchats

View all

5 Reasons Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Is Important

Five9 Shares Insights on Implementing a DE&I Strategy

April 13, 2021

FASTCHAT: How Fortinet Reduces Complexity Through Networking, Security

March 31, 2021

Strong Customer Experience Needs Strong Partner Experience

December 22, 2020

Twitter

ChannelFutures

.@Riverbed promotes a pair of channel executives to key positions. @RiverbedPartner @megbhappy… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

April 20, 2021
ChannelFutures

.@Avant_CCC is help agents get better at consultative sales. dlvr.it/Ry3zJ6 https://t.co/nNkJ942wRr

April 20, 2021
ChannelFutures

.@Avaya Cloud Office by @RingCentral further expands globally, includes new features. #UCaaS dlvr.it/Ry1QMg https://t.co/sVTkX6u4SO

April 19, 2021
ChannelFutures

.@attcyber and @SentinelOne teamed up around endpoint #security. dlvr.it/Ry1GMh https://t.co/LGV3RjpUBK

April 19, 2021
ChannelFutures

#Kubernetes expertise will help #channelpartners win big in move to cloud, says @Infoblox. dlvr.it/Ry16sP https://t.co/8lB4T93fuN

April 19, 2021
ChannelFutures

.@CambiumNetworks unveils new #partnerprogram focused on health care. dlvr.it/Ry12RG https://t.co/uGNMBQyQUa

April 19, 2021
ChannelFutures

.@solarwinds pays top executives more than $65 million despite massive hack. #cybersecurity dlvr.it/Ry0tXf https://t.co/1XjFpk7WMl

April 19, 2021
ChannelFutures

.@DruvaInc now valued at $2 billion. What does this mean for #Compass channel partners? Find out what we know.… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

April 19, 2021

MSSP Insider

Business advice for MSSPs and news from the broader security channel.

Newsletters and Updates

Sign up for The Channel Report, Channel Futures Update, MSP 501 Newsletter and more.

Live Channel Events

Get the latest information on the next industry-leading Channel Partners event.

Galleries

Educational slide shows and images from live events.

Media Kit And Advertising

Want to reach our audience? Access our media kit.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • Channel Partners Events
  • Telecoms.com
  • MSP 501
  • Black Hat
  • IoT World Today
  • Omdia

WORKING WITH US

  • Contact
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Newsletter

FOLLOW Channel Futures ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2021 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X