Key Staffer on Incentive Auction Leaving the FCC
Assistant Wireless Bureau Chief Brett Tarnutzer, one of the key FCC staffers working on the TV incentive auction, is leaving the agency to join the GSMA, where he will work for John Giusti, who heads the London-based group’s Spectrum Policy Team. Industry officials said in interviews that Tarnutzer’s departure is potentially significant since he's in charge of many of the technical aspects of making the auction work, including computing and the repacking software.
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The FCC is also beefing up the auction team, adding Greenhill & Co. Managing Director Lawrence Chu. Chu, who has been an adviser on the auction to the FCC, will join the agency as a full-time staffer on the Incentive Auction Task Force. He will be a special adviser to the task force, agency officials said.
Industry officials said many view Tarnutzer as the single most important staffer working on the mechanics of the auction. But others said the FCC has a strong team. Tarnutzer’s responsibilities are being split among various other staffers with expertise in auction design, repacking and software, an FCC official said.
NAB General Counsel Rick Kaplan said he worked closely with Tarnutzer as Wireless Bureau chief under former Chairman Julius Genachowski. “Brett has been an integral part of the incentive auction team and an incredible asset to the commission,” he said. “The good news is that the FCC has a very deep bench, and we don’t see any reason why Brett’s departure should derail the FCC’s timing, which, with the right rules in place, should be early 2016.”
"Brett will be missed for sure but [task force Chairman] Gary Epstein and [task force Vice Chairman] Howard Symons have assembled a talented team with deep bench strength,” said Preston Padden, executive director of the Expanding Opportunities for Broadcasters Coalition. “There will be a successful auction early in 2016." CTIA is confident “the FCC will continue to be thorough and ensure that the 600 MHz broadcast incentive auction will proceed as scheduled,” said Scott Bergmann, vice president-regulatory affairs.
GSMA has a history of hiring FCC staffers. Giusti was chief of the International Bureau and a top aide to former Commissioner Michael Copps before he left to join GSMA four years ago.
"I’ve long recognized that Brett is a deep thinker and a key player within the Commission’s auctions group," said Angela Giancarlo, former FCC legal adviser and now a communications lawyer at Mayer Brown. "I have no doubt that he’ll be missed."