BARCELONA, March 3 (Reuters) - The top watchdog of the U.S.telecommunications market defended new rules that will tightenregulation over the country's broadband providers as necessaryto defend consumers' interests and openness on the Internet.
Speaking at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Tuesday,Tom Wheeler, the head of the U.S. Federal CommunicationsCommission said that some in the industry exaggerated when theysaid the moves would harm them or cripple innovation on the web.
"One of the tragedies" of net neutrality debate has beenpeople invoking "imaginary horribles," he said, adding that theFCC would not interfere the telecom or cable groups' businesses.
Separately, Wheeler said the U.S. will hold its next auctionof 600 megahertz spectrum in first quarter of next year.
"If I am invited back to this show next year, there will bea spectrum auction ongoing in the US at that time," he said.
"We will hold for the first time in the world an incentiveauction in which we seek to buy back 600 megahertz spectrum frombroadcasters and repackage it to sell to the wireless industry." (Reporting by Leila Abboud and Alina Selyukh; Editing by HarroTen Wolde)
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