Public Knowledge to Hill: Oversee Auctions, Don't Micromanage Them

In testimony for a July 23 House Communications Subcommittee hearing, Public Knowledge senior vice president Harold Feld says that everybody needs to lighten up when it comes to spectrum incentive auctions so the Federal Communications Commission staffers can do their jobs, or risk rushing headlong and "heedlessly" into an "ill-designed" process.

"Constantly hectoring staff that they are moving too fast or two slow, issuing too many public notices or not enough, being too generous to broadcasters or not generous enough, scheming to undermine licensed spectrum with inflated guard bands or being in the pocket of this or that faction of the industry is worse than not helpful," he says. "It creates an atmosphere of suspicion and pushes staff to retreat into the bowels of the Portals at a time when we need the maximum amount of transparency and trust between staff and stakeholders." Feld says the commission should avoid "forcing" false choices between licensed and unlicensed spectrum or boosting competition vs. paying for FirstNet (the interoperable nationwide broadband first responder network that will be paid for out of auction proceeds).