TIA In the News
TIA Urges FCC to Lower D Block Minimum Bid
November 3, 2008
Communications Daily
Intel said the FCC is taking the right approach in its proposed rules for the 700 MHz D-block by opening the door for bidders to pursue a national or regional license for the spectrum. "The Commission is faced with the difficult challenge of trying to balance public safety and emergency preparedness requirements, with market-oriented flexibility and profitability requirements," Intel said in a filing at the FCC. "A single, flexible nationwide license would, for practical deployment reasons, assure the interoperability requirement was met. However, it would also greatly limit the field of potential bidders. Intel supports the Commission's approach of increasing the field of bidders, by allowing a flexible auction process." TIA, meanwhile, urged that the FCC reduce or remove the minimum bid requirement for the D-block. TIA wants public safety officials to be able to select commercial devices and applications that meet Public Safety Broadband Licensee (PSBL) specifications. "As the FCC rightly indicates, building an interoperable broadband public safety network is more important to this nation than loading our federal coffers," said Danielle Coffey, TIA vice president for government affairs. "We now have an economic landscape where bidders are scrambling to find funds for investment in the D Block; in this instance, an artificial floor for bidding should be replaced by a competitive bidding structure that lets the market set the value of the D Block spectrum."
Reprinted by permission from Communications Daily
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