The 768 page T-Mobile-Sprint filing 768 page blocks out some of the most important information. The “redactions” make it almost impossible to determine whether some of the claims are accurate or bs. Most of them would not be of major value to competitors. No reason has been provided for why they must be confidential. So I filed a Freedom of Information Act request.
The FCC is likely to sit on this; the U.S. is notorious for delaying things until they are no longer important. I don’t have the money for a lawyer and hope someone will volunteer to back me up if this needs to go to court. It is an ongoing scandal that the FCC often allows companies to hold back information required to make a sound judgment on the merits. The law is clear but usually ignored.
“I am requesting the redacted portions of the Sprint T-Mobile filing. Applicant has not provided particular reasons for the redactions. I will happily waive my request for any particular datapoint for which the applicant provides a compelling reason to hold back.
Much of the information held back is often available from public sources for major carriers. For example, Lowell McAdam recently mentioned the number of cells they have. I have several incumbents with figures for their average traffic. Others provide locations of cells. …
In at least one case, the information redacted I suspect contradicts something claimed elsewhere in the filing.
I’ve previously done a handful of FOIAs and have editorialized that information necessary to judge an application should not be redacted unless extremely sensitive.”
I requested a fee waiver because “I am a working reporter with 20 years in broadband. The sole reason I am making this request is to inform my reporting and public discussion. I’m also not rich.
I believe that some of the redacted information is crucial to judge the accuracy of important claims in the filing.”