Watching FCC Chairman Kevin Martin now on CNBC as he explains the rules set today for next year’s 700 MHz auction. He stresses the opportunity for the successful 22 megahertz bidder to be able to launch a national wireless birodband network with powerful capabilities given the characteristics of the spectrum being left behind by broadcasters as they shift to digital—it easily penetrates walls at very low power, can carry a lot of data. Attaching a wholesale requirement “might deter someone from investing in the spectrum after they bought the network. I wanted to make sure the person who bought it had the maximum opportunity and the maximum incentive in the network. ... On the other hand, I wanted to make sure that the people who were manufacturing devices and applications can attach those ...”

Won’t be retroactive: Martin calls it an appropriate balance, leaving alone those who have already invested in a network without that rule in place. That’s despite his insistence that consumers are constituents, too.

XM-Sirius: Not to read too much into this but some of Martin’s remarks were especially interesting given the argument by XM and Sirius that their marketplace should not be defined by satellite radio alone as they seek permission to merge. Asked about competition between internet, telecom, broadcasters, Martin said: “Technology is allowing all of those companies to increasingly compete with each other… it’s harder and harder to say broadcasters aren’t competing cable operators, that cable operators aren’t competing with telephone companies, that wireline and wireless aren’t competing for consumers’ dollars and attention. What you’re is the technology increasingly allowing all of these platforms to compete head to head.”

(Memo to CNBC: Please, please, please turn off the sound effects when you’re doing an interview and switching to show charts or graphics. It is beyond annoying.)