Wireless Bureau Seeks Comment on H-Block Auction Rules
The FCC moved another step closer to an H-block auction, with the Wireless Bureau releasing a public notice on the auction of 10 MHz of already cleared paired spectrum at 1915-1920 MHz and 1995-2000 MHz. The H-block auction is designated Auction 96 by the commission and is to take place “by or as early as” Jan. 14, Monday’s notice said. The FCC approved a report and order on the auction at its June 27 meeting (CD June 28 p1).
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Under last year’s spectrum law, the auction will provide money to help pay for FirstNet, the national wireless network for first responders. Wireless Bureau Chief Ruth Milkman said last month the spectrum is adjacent to the PCS band and is likely to be attractive to carriers that can easily integrate it into their networks. Comments are due Aug. 5, replies Aug. 16. Most of the details were in the earlier report and order. For example, the commission previously determined that the spectrum would be sold in Economic Area chunks, with 176 licenses offered in total. The notice seeks comment on specific auction rules, asking the types of questions posed before auctions.
The bureau proposed a simultaneous multiple-round (SMR) auction format (http://bit.ly/18iYcWo), commonly used by the commission for spectrum auctions. “In the alternative, we propose to conduct Auction 96 as a single round sealed bid auction,” the bureau said. “While not as common for spectrum auctions as the SMR format, we have previously used the single round sealed bid format. We propose this alternative because Auction 96 offers licenses in only a single spectrum block and a single round auction may simplify the process for bidders and reduce the costs of auction participation.” The bureau also proposed anonymous bidding, consistent with recent major spectrum auctions.
"The Commission last held a major auction over five years ago, and consumer demand for mobile data has grown exponentially since,” said Commissioner Ajit Pai (http://fcc.us/10YjiqW). “I've proposed conducting this auction by late 2013 or early 2014 for two basic reasons. The sooner we get the currently fallow H Block spectrum into the commercial marketplace, the sooner it can be used to deliver bandwidth-intensive mobile services and applications, and the sooner the First Responder Network Authority ... will receive its initial infusion of funds from auction revenues. Of course, getting the auction rules and procedures right is extremely important.”