FCC admits 700 Mhz D-Block unlikely to sell

FCC's Martin Admits Unlikely to See D-Block Spectrum Bidder

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin publicly admitted Wednesday for the first time that it looks unlikely that a bidder will come forward for the largest piece of communications airwaves the agency is auctioning off.

Testifying before a House Telecommunications Subcommittee hearing, Martin admitted under questioning that it now seems doubtful that a bidder will come forward and bid the minimum $1.3 billion required by FCC rules for the swath of spectrum.

"I do recognize that the concerns that public safety raised seem like they are too great at this point for anyone to be willing to put in a bid and work with public safety," said Martin.

If there was a company willing to pay at least $1.3 billion for the radio spectrum, it would be obliged to work with public safety to build a national wireless network for use by first responders. Any spare capacity on that wireless network could be leased to the commercial cellular industry.

Previously, whenever he has been asked about the spectrum, known as the D-block, Martin has expressed confidence that a bidder will come forward.

After 67 rounds of the auction over 15 days, there has been only one anonymous bid for the 10-megahertz section of spectrum. That bid was made in the first round of the proceedings on Jan. 24 for the minimum amount allowed of $472 million. Due to FCC rules, all bidders must remain anonymous until the auction is complete.

Martin was being questioned by Rep. Joe Barton, R-Tex., the ranking minority member on the House Commerce Committee.

House Republicans have objected to the conditions placed on certain sections of the spectrum being sold.

"There are many people, and I'm one of them, that thinks the commission has put so many encumbrances on [the D-block] that the private sector is not really comfortable proposing a bid," said Barton.

He urged Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., the chairman of the House Telecommunications Subcommittee, to hold a public hearing to evaluate what the options are for the sale of the spectrum. Markey agreed, saying he intended to hold such a hearing.

A total of $19.4 billion has been bid by companies throughout the auction, well more than the official government estimate for how much would be raised of $10 billion. Due to this fact, it is likely that there will be significantly less pressure on Martin to simply sell the spectrum without any conditions attached in a bid to raise more money.

Martin said that the commission "would go back to the drawing board" to decide what to do if no bidder came forward in the remaining rounds of the auction. He said that he hoped a solution could be reached that would still involve a public-private partnership.

The D-block was to be pieced together with a further 10 megahertz already allocated to public safety to build a wireless broadband network using 20 megahertz of spectrum.

The FCC is selling 62 megahertz of spectrum in the auction. It is widely seen as being the most valuable to ever come available to the commercial wireless industry due to the fact it can transmit over vast geographic distances and through thick buildings.

It is being sold to the private sector due to a switch by television broadcasters to a digital signal from an analog one, which requires substantially less spectrum.

FCC's Martin Admits Unlikely to See D-Block Spectrum Bidder

 

I don't think it has anything to do with the price, but that it has to be given priorty or full access to Public Safety over commercial usage, so what carrier wants to build it out and not be able to make money using it?
If the consortment that was going to bid on it for the intended reason, then it would have worked because they were going to lease the airwaves to the carriers to use unless an emergency came up but they couldn't raise the money needed & folded.