Two senior House Republicans are calling on the Federal Communications Commission to drop a proposal that the winning bidder of a swath of airwaves offers free Internet services to the public as part of the deal.

House Energy and Commerce Committee ranking member Joe Barton, R-Texas, and Telecommunications Subcommittee ranking member Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., on Monday sent a letter to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin saying the free Internet condition would discourage some companies from bidding for the airwaves.

"Our understanding is that there would be more than 40 small, medium, and large carriers that would be interested in bidding on the spectrum if it didn't have the service conditions," the letter said.

At a hearing earlier this month, Stearns pressed Martin on the issue, noting that the commission's past experiences in placing conditions on spectrum sales hasn't been successful. At the time, Martin said he remained committed to the idea.

The Stearns and Barton letter asked the FCC to delay the spectrum auction until after the commission sells another slice of airwaves for use by firefighters and police officers.

Martin has said he wants to go forward with the spectrum sale involving free Internet as soon as he can - he hopes by the end of the summer - in order to win enough support from the five-member commission.

FCC officials weren't immediately available to comment on the letter.