4G Coalition Stumps For D Block Auction
The Coalition for 4G in America, which includes Clearwire, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile, will be making their case on Capitol Hill for auctioning spectrum in the D block.
Former Motorola Chief Technology Officer Dennis Roberson will hold briefings on the House and Senate side about why the coalition thinks an auction is the way to go. The D block is the spectrum the Federal Communications Commission tried to auction to create a public-private partnership to build a national, interoperable public safety network. It failed to draw the FCC's minimum bid. The FCC has made re-auctioning that spectrum, which 4G supports, part of its national broadband plan. It would not mandate a public-private partnership, but would require the winning bidder to make that 10 MHz of spectrum available for public safety in an emergency.
But Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, has introduced a bill that would put the spectrum directly in the hands of public safety.
4G Coalition Stumps For D Block Auction