FCC Commissioner McDowell at Tech Policy Summit; Auction Update
Jan 31, 2008
We were just about to announce that Commissioner Robert McDowell of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will be participating in the Tech Policy Summit conference this March when we heard the latest news regarding the 700 MHz spectrum auction. So consider this a two-for-one announcement.
A week after the FCC opened its auction, the $4.6 billion reserve price for the coveted C block has been met. Though we'll have to wait and see who wins the national license when all is said and done, the winner will now need to comply with the Commission's open access conditions.
As you may remember, Commissioner McDowell was the sole dissenter when the FCC approved those rules last summer. In a statement he released at the time, he explained his dissent in part as follows: "While we can agree on the destination -- consumers should be able to enjoy device and application portability if they want -- we may respectfully disagree about the best path to get there."
The reserve prices have also been met for other sections of spectrum including the A Block and B Block, leaving the D block that had been set aside for a public safety network as the only license that's lagging well below its reserve price. The FCC has set the reserve price for the D block at $1.3 billion, but the top bid thus far has been $472 million.
In total, The FCC has already received bids worth over $12.7 billion, which puts it well within the $10 billion to $15 billion range the government had been hoping for.
Given the numerous issues before the FCC, and their importance to technology innovation and adoption, we look forward to Commissioner's McDowell's involvement in Tech Policy Summit. Click here to learn more about him and the other speakers joining us March 26-March 28 at the 2008 Summit, and sign up online to be there in person.
Tags:
700 MHz spectrum, FCC, Robert McDowell, Tech Policy Summit
