Squeezing More Blood From The Spectrum Turnip -- Harry Reid's Contribution To The Spectrum Muddle

[Commentary] No sooner had I posted my wonkish critique of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) score for S.911, the Rockefeller Public Safety/Spectrum Bill, when Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) turns around and drops a new version of the plan as part of his debt ceiling bill.

Sen Reid promises to raise $15 billion in “spectrum sales” while still reallocating the D Block to public safety. That’s quite a trick, given that CBO had given S.911 a “score” (meaning the amount of money it will add or subtract from the deficit) of $6 billion.

A quick review shows how Sen Reid is trying to squeeze more blood from the spectrum turnip.

Specifically, the bill would:

• Cut the proposed level of public safety funding from $12 billion to $7 billion.
• Cut the proposed level of funding for public safety research from $500 Million to $300 Million.
• Give the FCC much greater flexibility to repack broadcasters.
• Limit the total amount of incentive auction reimbursement to $1 billion.
• While the FCC could allocate 6 MHz for unlicensed if it reclaimed more than 84 MHz of broadcast spectrum, any additional unlicensed would need to come from somewhere else — although you could use the incentive auction fund to clear other licensees.