FCC has new plan to re-auction D-block spectrum

Peggy Albright — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 20:23:17 -0400

Late Friday, the FCC divulged a new proposal to re-auction D-block spectrum that failed to find a bidder during the 700 MHz auction held earlier this year. The new proposal will be discussed at the commission's Sept. 25 meeting.

During a conference call with reporters on Friday, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said the new plan will require a lower starting bid and ease the construction requirements that contributed to the failure of the original auction. The new auction will call for a starting bid of $750 million (roughly half of the $1.3 billion required the first time around) and it extends the construction period from 10 to 15 years. If no bidder comes forth for the entire block, companies will be able to bid on 58 separate regional licenses. The commission has considered and has developed approaches for allocating costs to various regions in the event a regional approach is used. It will not license spectrum on a regional basis unless at least 50 percent of the regional licenses are won.

The D-block spectrum, reserved for use in partnership between public and private companies, is intended to give cash-strapped public safety agencies access to the network in times of emergencies. This new proposal will certainly draw intense examination and debate between all the stakeholders, including public safety agencies, commercial operators, and new entrants that are interested in this resource.

For more:
- see this article in The Washington Post
- see this article in Broadcasting&Cable

Public safety looks to make D-block reauction enticing to commerical operators

Lynnette Luna — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 00:26:23 -0400

The Association of Public Safety Officials (APCO) has submitted recommended technical changes to the FCC regarding the rules governing the re-auction of D-block spectrum, which failed to garner a bidder that was willing to plunk down the $1.3-billion reserve price during the 700 MHz auction earlier this year.

APCO believes the commission would create a greater financial incentive for a commercial operator to bid on the 10-megahertz block if that spectrum was coupled with another 10-megahertz of spectrum that is already allocated to public safety. Under that scenario, public safety would have priority access on no more than 50 percent of the network's capacity rather than 100 percent proposed the first time around. That would maximize the business opportunity for the commercial operator, noted Sean O'Hara of Syracuse Research in an article from Urgent Communications.

"This may seem like a concession," O'Hara of Syracuse Research said during a panel discussion at last week's APCO conference. "But, if this [network] is not built, we're not going to get to use more than that 10 megahertz anyway."

Recently, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said that the commission won't make a decision on whether to re-auction the 700 MHz D-Block spectrum or to auction the AWS-3 spectrum until at least September.

For more:
- read Urgent Communications

Related stories:
FCC says auction decision won't happen until September. Auction story
What does public safety do now? D-block editorial