FCC Adopts Rules for First Ever Incentive Auction; Will Make Available Additional Airwaves, Increase Competition For Mobile Broadband

The Federal Communications Commission adopted rules to implement the Broadcast Television Incentive Auction. The two-sided auction will use market forces to recover spectrum from television broadcasters who voluntarily choose to give up some or all of their spectrum usage rights in exchange for incentive payments, in order to auction new spectrum licenses to wireless providers.

The Incentive Auction will help meet consumers’ skyrocketing demand for mobile broadband services.

Across the country, in both rural and urban areas, consumers and businesses expect to have access to wireless connectivity anywhere, anytime. Today, there are more connected devices than there are people in the US, and about 60 percent of Americans use data-hungry smartphones. By making more spectrum available for mobile broadband use, the Incentive Auction will benefit consumers by easing congestion on wireless networks, expediting the development of new, more robust wireless services and applications and helping fill in coverage gaps particularly in rural America.

Broadcasters that choose to participate in the auction will bid to receive some of the proceeds from auctioning that spectrum to wireless providers. The auction is a once in a lifetime opportunity for broadcasters, but the decision of whether or not to participate is entirely voluntary.

The adopted rules establish the foundation for the incentive auction. Based on these rules the FCC will develop and seek additional public input on detailed, final auction procedures in the pre-auction process.

There are four parts to the rules implementing the Incentive Auction:

1. The reorganized 600 MHz Band, including repacking and unlicensed operations;
2. The Incentive Auction process and design;
3. The post-auction transition for all incumbents in the 600 MHz band; and
4. Post-transition regulatory issues, including channel sharing.

Specifically, the report and order addresses the 600 MHz band plan, incentive auction design, post-auction transition, and post-auction regulatory issues.