A Spectral Incentive Auction?

[Commentary] The reaction to the Federal Communications Commission’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to establish the parameters of its much-anticipated broadcast spectrum auctions has been a stunned silence -- not because there were any real surprises in the NPRM, but because the NPRM made clear to those not previously involved in the process the sheer enormity of the tasks ahead. Also feeding the industry's muted reaction is the fact that, because there were no surprises, the industry doesn't know much more now than it did before about how the auctions will be structured. Instead, we are left with many excellent but unanswered questions asked by the NPRM, leaving the auction rules and structure a very ethereal proposition.