FCC Prepares to Auction Off Additional Wireless Spectrum

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Facing  a future in which wireless adoption rates are expected to skyrocket, the FCC is beginning to lay down plans to deal with this ensuing wireless broadband crunch. One portion of the overall plan involves auctioning off the now stagnant D-Block, a portion of spectrum that failed to sell when the US government auctioned off the 700MHz band en masse in 2008.

For those that need a refresher, the D-Block occupies about 10 MHz of broadband spectrum in the 700 MHz band and was offered to commercial interests in an auction that had stringent stipulations regarding the future use of the spectrum. This spectrum, though potentially owned by a private company, would be set aside for usage by the public safety community in an arrangement that would require the formation of a public-private partnership to manage the spectrum resources. Turned off by this public-private arrangement, wireless carriers snubbed the D-Block and bid on the open blocks of spectrum that were available without such uncomfortable stipulations. As a result, the reserve price for the D-Block auction was not met and the spectrum was set aside to languish while the Bush administration vacated the White House and the Obama administration moved in.

With the unveiling of the National broadband initiative earlier this week under the Obama administration, interest in the D-Block has been re-kindled.

According to a report from the FCC, the D-Block may find itself back on the auction block in a second attempt to sell this wireless asset. This second attempt at sales may be more attractive to small wireless carriers, such as T-Mobile, who are desperate for additional spectrum as they look to build out their future 4G network and watch helplessly as data usage on their current 3G network explodes.

Learning  from its past mistakes, the FCC is expected to loosen restrictions on the use of this spectrum and may propose a plan whereby the public safety community has access to the entire portion of the spectrum when needed during emergencies and will compensate the wireless carrier during these expectedly infrequent times. These terms and conditions are still being ironed out and the FCC may issue a notice of inquiry as early as this summer to request feedback on the future usage of this spectrum.

If an agreement can be reached, the D-Block may find itself on the auction block as early as the first or second quarter of 2011.