FCC Considering Regional Frequency Auction

A story in The Wall Street Journal says that FCC chair Kevin Martin is circulating a proposal among the other commissioners that would re-auction a block of spectrum that failed to win any bidders earlier this year, but would sell the frequencies through several regional licenses, instead of a single nationwide license as in the previous auction. The proposal could be voted on by the commissioners as early as Sept. 25th, the Journal says. The story adds that New York City has told the FCC that it won’t participate in any nationwide communications network, and that it wants the spectrum turned over to local cities and states at no charge, instead of being auctioned for money. The auction was mandated by Congress, and could raise up to $1 billion for the U.S. treasury from winning bidders.