Incentive auction proceedings hit broadcaster milestone, with claimed ‘robust’ participation
The Federal Communications Commission’s planned 600 MHz incentive auction process reached a milestone this week as the broadcaster application deadline passed, with apparently positive results.
Television broadcasters interested in giving up some of their current spectrum holdings in the 600 MHz band had until Jan. 12 to file an application with the FCC, with a statement from the National Association of Broadcasters indicating “robust” participation from television broadcasters.
“The FCC’s staff has done a remarkable amount of work to get us to this point,” explained NAB EVP of communications Dennis Wharton, in a statement. “NAB expects robust broadcaster participation in the reverse auction, and we hope to see similarly robust participation from wireless bidders in the forward auction. While we’ve expressed our concerns, we hope that the rules and systems the FCC has in place will ensure that this voluntary auction goes off without a hitch, and we look forward to the close of a successful auction.”
NAB had initially fought the FCC on auction rules, including filing a petition with the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit claiming the FCC auction rulemaking changed the “methodology used to predict local television coverage areas and population served, which could result in significant loss of viewership of broadcast TV stations after the FCC ‘repacks’ TV stations into a shrunken TV band.” That challenge was eventually overturned.
The deadline for companies looking to bid on the broadcast spectrum is currently set at Feb. 9, with the reverse-auction proceedings still set to begin on March 29. A number of large mobile carriers have expressed keen interest in the process, including AT&T and T-Mobile US. Verizon Wireless has been cagey in its auction intentions, while Sprint has said it will not participate.
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