NAB’s Incentive Auction Lawsuit – A Detour Not a Road Block

While the issues surrounding the Federal Communications Commission’s incentive auctions raised by the National Association of Broadcasters are significant and deserve careful consideration, we do not think this lawsuit will become a road block to further progress on the auction.

An incentive auction, by definition, requires the FCC to bring together competing interests and strike a delicate balance between protecting incumbent rights and freeing up new spectrum allocations sufficient to attract bidder interest. This exercise raises complexities never before seen in an FCC auction and it is inevitable that there will be differences of opinion and occasional detours of process as we move forward. Compromise must continue to be the hallmark of the incentive auction proceeding. We have to date seen a healthy and productive amount of give and take between the FCC and industry on a range of auction issues, from the band plan to the auction framework to bidding restrictions. And we believe that the issues raised by NAB can similarly be resolved — and resolved quickly — in a manner that protects broadcasters consistent with the dictates of the statute while achieving the auction efficiencies that the FCC wants and needs to conduct a successful auction.