Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Julius Genachowski has notified the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) that the regulator plans ‘to commence the auction of licences in the 1695MHz–1710MHz and 1755MHz–1780MHz spectrum bands as early as September 2014’.
FCC commissioner Ajit Pai commented: ‘ This is the first step in what will be an important process, and I look forward to working with my FCC colleagues, NTIA, and other stakeholders to help American consumers and the economy benefit from this spectrum as quickly as possible. In particular, I continue to believe that we should aim to clear and reallocate the 1755MHz–1780MHz band rather than forcing federal users and commercial operators to undertake the complicated, untested task of spectrum sharing’.
In other news, within 24 hours of FCC commissioner Robert McDowell announcing his resignation, the Wall Street Journal has reported that Mr Genachowski is also preparing to depart the regulator, possibly as early as 30 June, when his current term expires. The report cites an ‘unnamed FCC official’.