Milkman to Head Incentive Auction Task Force
The FCC is launching a task force to oversee the work the agency has to do to get ready for the upcoming auction of broadcast spectrum, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said Wednesday. The task force will be overseen by former Wireless Bureau Chief Ruth Milkman. The announcement came amid questions about how quickly the FCC will be able to move forward on the auction, which is expected to be the most complicated in the history of the agency.
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"Implementing the legislation is a multi-bureau, multi-office effort,” Genachowski said. “It is unprecedented and obviously involves not only the Wireless Bureau but the Media Bureau, our Office of Engineering and Technology. It’s important that it be a coordinated, organized, efficient and streamlined effort.” The task force is already examining the legislation in detail and putting together an “organizing and implementation plan,” Genachowski said. “It’s a tremendous amount of work. It’s going to be a complex, challenging task.”
Amy Levine, an aide to Genachowski, predicted two weeks ago an auction would occur in the next 18-24 months (CD March 7 p3). Commissioner Robert McDowell predicted it could take at least twice as long, given the complexities involved (CD March 15 p1). “A more realistic time frame for completion of the entire process would be the better part of a decade due to the unique complexities present here,” McDowell said.
Milkman, Genachowski’s first Wireless Bureau chief, left that position last summer to become a special counsel to Genachowski. She was previously at the FCC from 1986 to 1998, including stints as deputy chief of the International and Common Carrier bureaus and as an aide to former FCC Chairman Reed Hundt.
Former and current FCC officials told us concerns remain about how quickly the FCC will be able to move forward on an incentive auction. “Certainly, the obvious first step is to form a group to start outlining how the new legislation should be implemented,” one official said. “What happens after the announcement is the crucial part.”
"I think this shows they want to move quickly,” said a senior telecom lawyer and former FCC official. “It would not surprise me to see this in the 24-30 month time frame rather than 18-24. Of course, all of this presumes that the election won’t disrupt the schedule. … Given that this was passed by Congress, I think that both D’s and R’s have a need for this to be a success."
Free State Foundation President Randolph May said at his group’s conference Tuesday there were recurring questions about the administration’s leadership on spectrum, particularly on making more federal spectrum available for broadband. “I welcome the creation of a task force and commend him for it,” May said of Genachowski. “I am not as concerned, though, with putting names and boxes on a new organizational chart as I am with active, ongoing leadership to get the job done. … Ultimately, it takes a will to lead."
"The chairman is making a powerful statement about the priority that will be attached to this project,” said Andrew Schwartzman, senior vice president of the Media Access project. “That doesn’t mean things will move swiftly, but it makes a shorter time frame more likely than if he had not moved so swiftly and decisively."
The announcement shows the FCC takes the challenge seriously, said Public Knowledge Legal Director Harold Feld. “It shows that the FCC recognizes this will require serious, sustained effort for some time, and will impact a lot of different areas of FCC jurisdiction,” he said. “Anyone who thinks that the FCC underestimated how hard this would be should be reassured.”