The TV incentive auction should end up being bigger than the AWS-3 auction, said Preston Padden, former executive director of the Expanding Opportunities for Broadcasters Coalition, in a Wednesday blog post. The AWS-3 auction had only 70 qualified bidders, with pricing driven primarily by four bidders -- AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Dish Network, he said. “Based on detailed auction simulations in the FCC record, the 600 MHz auction is likely to include a net of 90 or 100 MHz of paired spectrum -- twice as much as in AWS 3,” he said. “And, demand is greater in this auction. 104 bidders have filed in the 600 MHz auction -- more than the 70 in AWS 3.” Carriers have tried to downplay the value of the spectrum, Padden said. “But just a few weeks ago, Bill Smith, president of AT&T Network Operations, gave a speech in which he candidly admitted the continuing need for more spectrum,” said Padden (see 1602230042). The 600 MHz spectrum is also uniquely valuable, he said. “It travels long distances and goes through walls. Even advanced 5G systems will need low band spectrum for signaling channels.”

The FCC is looking for an outside contractor to oversee parts of the broadcaster repacking after the TV incentive auction, FCC officials confirm. The agency quietly released a request for solicitations last month. FCC officials said Tuesday numerous groups are focused on repacking, but no changes to the rules are pending, especially with the auction to formally start March 29. Meanwhile, a T-Mobile engineer said in a blog post Tuesday the carrier is more convinced than that the repacking can be completed within the 39 months mandated by the FCC.

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler will tout “significant progress in our ongoing efforts to maximize the benefits of communications technology” in the four months since last testifying before the House Communications Subcommittee, according to written testimony for a Tuesday oversight hearing. He will talk about the big-ticket initiatives before the agency, from the pending broadcast TV incentive auction to his proposals to overhaul of set-top box rules, Lifeline and privacy rules for ISPs. All five commissioners will testify. The hearing is scheduled for 10:15 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn.

The 104 names of potential bidders in the TV incentive auction, released by the FCC Friday (see 1603180054), was higher than the number of bidders that qualified for the AWS-3 auction last year. While a positive for the FCC, some auction skeptics haven't been converted to optimists. Several analysts continued to question whether the incentive auction will match the dollars raised by last year’s record-setting AWS-3 auction.

CTIA believes 39 months is enough time for the broadcaster repacking after the TV incentive auction, President Meredith Baker said during a meeting with reporters Wednesday. Baker also said the outlook is unclear on whether the 3.5 GHz shared spectrum band will get strong carrier interest.

Audio-Technica U.S. countered CTIA's arguments against its reconsideration petition seeking relief from FCC rules on out-of-band emissions (OOBE) limits for wireless mics in the TV band. Instead, A-T said the FCC should approve the European Telecommunications Standards Institute standard without modification. CTIA said in a February filing (see 1602290059) that its opposition was based on “extensive testing information provided by CTIA and its members.” CTIA’s arguments rely on tests by engineering consultant V-Comm “to contend that even more stringent OOBE limits for wireless microphones are necessary to protect 600 MHz licensees from harmful interference,” the wireless mic company said. “A-T disputes this contention, and notes that wireless microphone industry representatives and others have called both the V-Comm methodology and results into question in this proceeding.” The filing was made in docket 12-268.

The FCC is proceeding full speed ahead to begin the incentive auction March 29, senior commission officials said on panels at Wednesday's Telecommunications Industry Association conference. "We're excited. We're 20 days out. All systems are go," said Howard Symons, vice chairman of the Incentive Auction Task Force. Asked if there was a chance for a delay, Julius Knapp, chief of the Office of Engineering and Technology, said, "We're still moving ahead for the 29th." Pressed by a reporter if there were some possibility for a delay, he said, "Not inside this building." Knapp said the FCC is focused on the "mechanics of the auction."

T-Mobile proposed the FCC divide the U.S. into eight regions for broadcaster repacking after the TV incentive auction. T-Mobile, widely expected to be a major player in the 600 MHz auction, has said broadcasters should be able to complete the repacking within the 39 months mandated by the FCC and also within the $1.75 billion budget established by Congress (see 1602180063). The latest proposal offers what the carrier sees as a way forward to meet the 39-month deadline.

The World Radiocommuncation Conference (WRC) that meets in 2019 in Geneva will take on very different issues than the last WRC, which was in November. The future use of the UHF band for mobile broadband isn't expected to come back as a topic, government officials said Thursday during an FCBA brown bag lunch. Top issues from the U.S. perspective in 2019 will include mobile broadband in bands above 6 GHz, global aeronautical distress and safety services, and the 5 GHz band, said Julie Zoller of the State Department, deputy head of the U.S. delegation to WRC-15.

The Competitive Carriers Association got things wrong in a recent report arguing that the FCC can easily complete repacking of broadcasters within 39 months after the TV incentive auction, said NAB Vice President-Spectrum Policy Bruce Franca Wednesday in a blog post. CCA disagreed with NAB's analysis.