On the agenda: What we know so far about the planned auction of the 600 MHz band, and what wireless carriers and other bidders interested in getting a piece of this beachfront can expect when it gets here.
There’s no denying it: the unprecedented incentive auction is barreling toward us. While many details are still up in the air, it’s clear that Chairman Wheeler is absolutely committed to getting the auction underway before the end of March, 2016. The Commission’s 156-page public notice setting out the auction’s governing procedures – released earlier this month – provides important insight into the process ahead of us. For the most part, the broadcast – a/k/a reverse – side of the auction has gotten all the headlines, but let’s not forget that Congress demanded the broadcaster spectrum reclamation in order to achieve a greater ultimate goal: to get that spectrum into the hands of wireless providers for wireless broadband use.
FHH’s own Davina Sashkin will be presenting a one-hour webinar designed to bring all interested parties up to speed on where the auction preparations stand and where they are likely to go from here. Davina, who has been working on incentive auction-related matters for more than a year, will shed light on the process as it impacts wireless license bidders. In her webinar she will be addressing:
- How the reverse and forward auction will be implemented, and how broadcast participation (or lack thereof) in the reverse auction will impact the wireless forward auction.
- The fundamentals of mobile carrier participation: Who gets to play? Who gets bidding credits? Who is a “designated entity?”
- How this auction differs from previous wireless spectrum auctions.
- What lessons can be learned from the AWS-3 auction? Is there sufficient carrier interest and available capital willing and ready to pay AWS-3 prices for this new repurposed broadcast spectrum?
The webinar (which is a production of Team Lightbulb) is now scheduled for Wednesday, September 2, 2015 at 1 p.m. (ET). You can register at this link.
