Once the "reverse" and "forward" auctions have both been completed and TV licenses have all been tucked away in their newly-compacted space, the fun will really begin for the Commission.… Continue Reading
The "forward" auction the FCC plans to use to dole out reconfigured spectrum to wireless operators may seem traditional, but watch out.… Continue Reading
Once the final participants in the repacking of the TV band have been identified through the "reverse" auction process, the shuffling of stations necessary to accomplish the repacking will raise a number of practical considerations and conundrums.… Continue Reading
The FCC's licensing and coordination procedures have evolved over the decades in response to technical and economic realities. Those procedures are working well. We hope Congress gets the message and leaves them alone.… Continue Reading
Whether or not you plan to participate in the "reverse" auction, if you're a TV licensee, you should be aware of what the FCC has in mind for the spectrum around you.… Continue Reading
An overview of the FCC's proposed approach to spectrum-clearing/spectrum-repopulating incentive auctions and some of the myriad factors at play in that process.… Continue Reading
In a rare move, the FCC will allow parties to submit information without also posting it in the docket. But be careful: information sent to the FCC remains subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.… Continue Reading
The urge to free up as much TV spectrum as possible for broadband use has now driven the Commission's Video Division to reach into the grave to take a couple of Class A authorizations back from a dead guy.… Continue Reading
From the FCC's perspective, the chore of repacking existing TV stations would probably be much easier if Class A stations could be downgraded to LPTV status. Where there's a will, there's a way: the downgrading effort has begun.… Continue Reading
It's official! President Obama has signed the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 into law, clearing the way for an elaborate incentive auction process intended to free up spectrum (including TV spectrum) for mobile broadband.… Continue Reading
With passage of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act, incentive auctions for spectrum repurposing have taken a great leap forward.… Continue Reading
Guest-blogger and lobbyist Catherine McCullough takes a look at new committee assignments in the 112th Congress and their likely effect on communications policy.… Continue Reading
In 2006, the FCC hustled through revisions of a number of rules affecting eligibility for bidding credits in spectrum auctions. Bad news for the FCC: the Third Circuit has now sent two of the three rule changes back to the agency for a re-do because of shortcomings in the rulemaking process.… Continue Reading
It is NOT a good idea to try to play cute with the FCC's bidding rules in an effort to secure undeserved bidding credits. A little-known Federal law provides both a major league financial incentive to blow the whistle on such misconduct and a non-FCC forum in which to blow that whistle.… Continue Reading
In an APRIL 1 announcement, the word is out: the FCC has eloped with Internet auction giant eBay, forming a "strategic partnership" under which eBay will run all the Commission's spectrum auctions!… Continue Reading
