Verizon Wireless announced Wednesday that it will sell all of its 700 MHz A and B spectrum licenses if the government approves its purchase of Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) spectrum licenses from several cable companies. Verizon purchased the licenses along with nationwide 700 MHz upper C licenses at an FCC auction in 2008. The company is deploying its 4G LTE network on the upper C spectrum and would use the AWS spectrum from the cable deal to augment that LTE network if the deal is approved. Verizon plans to start soliciting interest from potential buyers in anticipation of the cable deal being approved. The transaction is currently under review by both the Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission.

The announcement immediately drew skepticism from opponents of the cable deal, which include public interest groups and competitors like T-Mobile and Sprint. Opponents fear that confidential side agreements between Verizon and the cable companies to cross-promote and sell each other's products would eventually reduce competition for both wireless services and pay-TV. Public Knowledge legal director Harold Feld said agencies should resist the offer, while Free Press research director S. Derek Turner said the announcement was proof that Verizon is hoarding spectrum.

Quotable: “Verizon is trying to use the mere offer of a spectrum sale tempt the FCC and the Justice Department into approving the deal with the cable companies, and the agencies should resist the temptation.  Recent history of such spectrum sell-offs shows that when Verizon and AT&T sell off spectrum, it’s Verizon who buys AT&T’s, and vice versa.  Having AT&T buy Verizon spectrum in this instance would do nothing to change to help consumers." --Public Knowledge legal director Harold Feld House Oversight Panel Approves FISMA Reform Bill: CQ's Rachael Bade reports the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee approved this morning by voice vote a bill from chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., that would revamp the laws dictating how the government secures its computer networks. The legislation (HR 4257) introduced last month by Issa and ranking member Elijah Cummings, D-Md., would reform the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002, which has been criticized for its focus on compliance rather than actively deterring cyberthreats.

Issa's bill would require federal agencies to continuously monitor their systems for attacks and conduct regular threat assessments, bringing them in line with best practices advocated by cybersecurity experts. There is bipartisan agreement on the need to update FISMA, but the previous reform efforts have been bogged down after being included with attempts at comprehensive cybersecurity legislation. The House is currently preparing to bring a host of cybersecurity bills, including FISMA reform, to the floor next week for Cybersecurity Week.