The Path to a Successful Incentive Auction

Since my arrival at the Commission, I have spent more time working on the Broadcast Television Spectrum Incentive Auction than any other single issue.

There are several key ingredients to fulfilling our instructions from Congress and making the incentive auction a success. First and foremost, we absolutely must make fact-based policy decisions in an open and transparent manner. Beyond the policy issues, however, we must also exhaustively test the operating systems and the software necessary to conduct the world’s first-of-a kind incentive auction. This includes ensuring that such systems are user-friendly to both broadcasters and wireless carriers who will participate.

I believe we can conduct a successful auction in the middle of 2015. To achieve that goal, there will be a number of important milestones along the way. The Task Force will provide more details about the timeline and milestones in a presentation at the January 2014 Commission meeting. This plan includes presenting policy recommendations in a proposed Report and Order for the Commission’s consideration in early 2014. The Commission would then vote on the R&O in the spring of 2014. Concurrent with determining the rules of the road for the auction, another important aspect of the project plan will include developing the actual procedures for how the auction will be conducted. In the second half of 2014 the Task Force plans to release an Auction Comment Public Notice and a Procedures Public Notice that will provide additional details and seek comment on how the specific parts of the auction will actually function.