FCC Reschedules Spectrum Auction for 2015

After a month in office, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler believes that in order to have the most successful spectrum auction it’s best to reschedule it for 2015. “As any responsible manager knows, managing a complex undertaking such as this also requires an ongoing commitment to continuously and honestly assess its readiness and its project plan. 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,” Wheeler wrote in an FCC blog post last Friday. During this time, the Task Force will develop the actual procedures for how the auction will be conducted. There are other aspects of the auction that the chairman and the Task Force will have to take into consideration during this extra time. According to AdWeek, “In addition to all the logistical challenges of the auction, Wheeler is also facing a very tough decision about whether to limit the two biggest wireless companies, AT&T and Verizon, from gobbling up all the spectrum. The Department of Justice, some public interest groups and wireless firms such as T-Mobile and Sprint would like to see the FCC put some limits in place. But that could run afoul of both the House GOP and the language in the law that says the FCC may not restrict bidders.”