AT&T, Verizon beat back limits on airwaves auction

Federal regulators decline to cap amount of spectrum wireless giants can buy

By Allan Holmes, 4:45 pm, May 15, 2014 Updated: 12:19 pm, May 19, 2014

The Federal Communications Commission handed Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc. a victory Thursday when it agreed on a plan to auction valuable radio signals next year that will allow the two giant carriers to bid on most of the frequencies expected to be up for sale.

The agency was under pressure by consumer groups and smaller wireless carriers such as T-Mobile Inc. and Sprint Corp. to cap the amount of spectrum the wireless giants could buy so as to ensure competition in the industry.