NAB Fires Back at FCC

The National Association of Broadcasters isn’t too thrilled with being made the scapegoat for the FCC’s Incentive Auction delay. The FCC announced Friday, October 24, that the auction scheduled for mid-2015 would be pushed back until early 2016, citing the NAB’s recent lawsuit as part of the reason. “Given its complexity, there is good reason Congress gave the FCC 10 years to complete the proceeding. We reject suggestions that our narrowly focused lawsuit is cause for delay. We look forward to a speedy resolution of our legal challenge and a successful auction that preserves access to free and local TV for every American,” NAB Executive Vice President of Communications Dennis Wharton said in a statement. The CTIA and CCA weren’t too happy either with the FCC’s decision to delay as the need for spectrum to meet mobile demand is becoming increasingly important. “Given the number of reports that show a continued and significant increase in consumer demand for mobile broadband access, the wireless industry needs spectrum as soon as practicable so that it may continue to serve as the world’s leader and meet Americans’ demands for anytime, anywhere service to live their connected lives,” Vice President of CTIA, Scott Bergmann said. “While any delay in spectrum auctions is unfortunate, we appreciate the thoughtful focus the FCC has brought to this complex auction to ensure it is conducted properly to the benefit of all Americans. Today’s action underscores the need to resolve the pending litigation over the FCC’s rules expeditiously. When the auction is held, mobile companies will have their checkbooks ready to participate in this critical auction that will be key to our nation’s wireless future.”