Clyburn Opposed to Unnecessary Incentive Auction Delay
FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn opposes any unnecessary delays in holding the incentive auction, she said in an interview Friday. Clyburn clarified comments she made at CES about the need for a pause in the auction, now scheduled to start in early 2016 (see 1501080032). “I want to ensure we reach the proper decisions in the pending rulemakings and hold the incentive auction as expeditiously as possible,” she said. Clyburn also voiced concerns about how low-power broadcasters may be affected by the auction.
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Clybrun said she's very pleased with the AWS-3 auction results and plans to look more closely at the totals. “That record-breaking amount bid in the AWS-3 auction shows just how necessary spectrum is to the commercial wireless industry,” she said. “I hope that means more competitive options for consumers. I suspect the fact that AWS-3 bands are near the AWS-1 bands and there are already base stations and other equipment available for this spectrum played a role in the unexpected higher prices for the spectrum.”
Some critics already have argued that the high totals in the auction will drive up prices for consumers, Clyburn said. “When you design an auction to allocate a scare resource, I don’t see how it would serve the public interest to set a ceiling on the prices parties want to pay,” she said. “Competitive options for consumers help to promote lower prices for wireless services.” Congress directed the FCC to promote competition in the industry through the auctions, she said. “We should look to see how we can do more to promote competition in the wireless industry.”
Clyburn said she hopes to see as many small carriers as possible bid in the TV incentive auction. “I am glad we pushed large and small carriers to develop a consensus and shift from the larger economic areas to smaller partial economic areas,” she said. “Smaller license blocks and smaller geographic license areas promote competition in local markets and an efficient allocation of spectrum to the highest and best use.” Clyburn said the spectrum aggregation rules and interoperability mandate approved for the auction should also mean “robust” bidding from carriers large and small.
Clyburn expects the FCC to wrap up its work on competitive bidding rules before the incentive auction. The rules include revisiting the role of designated entities in FCC auctions (see 1410140190). “There have been major developments in the wireless market since these rules were last updated,” she said. “These developments include consolidation in the market and increased demand for wireless spectrum. Our rules, which were intended to implement congressional directives to enable small businesses to participate in auctions, need to be updated to keep pace with these developments.”
The post-incentive auction repacking could have “negative implications” for low-power TV stations, Clyburn said. LPTVs “provide valuable programming, and tend to have diverse ownership,” she said. “It would be a real loss to have those voices disappear.” It's “only right” for the FCC to explore ways to proceed with the auction with “minimal harm” to LPTV, she said.
The FCC is right to consider changes to the attributable material relationship rule and the former defaulter rule and also look at bidding credits for companies that plan to use the 600 MHz spectrum to deploy wireless service to “underserved persistent poverty” counties, Clyburn said. “Deployment of wireless networks spurs investment and creates jobs in those communities,” she said. “It would be great if those living in persistent poverty counties could benefit from that investment.”