FCC targets additional spectrum ahead of incentive auction

The Federal Communications Commission is proposing to auction off four bands of wireless frequencies, including one currently used by the military.

The additional spectrum will help wireless carriers meet their customers' skyrocketing demand for data, and the revenue from the auction could help the government pay for a nationwide communications network for first responders. The auction is separate from the FCC's broadcast incentive auction, in which the agency will buyback the licenses of TV stations. But the revenue from auctioning the four bands, collectively called "AWS-3," could give the FCC more flexibility in how it structures the incentive auctions.