FCC's Spectrum Auction Approaches $20B in Bids

An anonymous reader writes "After 32 rounds, the FCC has raised more than $18.8 billion in its 700-MHz auction, well surpassing its own early estimates of attracting between $10-15 billion in offers. That's undoubtedly good news for the agency. Since the auction began on Jan. 24, both the FCC and wireless experts have expressed ongoing concerns about meeting those estimates. Once the auction was underway, those worries were compounded by a shaky economic forecast and the possibility of a looming recession."

Comments

FCC '08 Budgetary Resources are $433 Million

[eldavojohn]

According to their budget sheet (133 page PDF warning), their proposed budgetary resources for 2008 is $433 million.

As I haven't been following the news very closely, does anyone know where this $20 billion will go?

I, like many Americans, am ghastly concerned with how my government spends money. I hope that the FCC doesn't pull an M.C. Hammer and put spinners on their pocket protectors or pass out diamond studded platinum iPods to all of its friends. Will this money be put under control of congressional spending? Will this money be put in a fund to supply the FCC with emergency regulation cash?

You're going to suddenly have over 40 times the amount of resources you normally have. Even if they went nuts and ordered yet another all marble Parthenon-dupe building in DC they couldn't burn all this cash. Please don't be stupid.

Re:FCC '08 Budgetary Resources are $433 Million

[Anonymous Coward]

Then why does the summary say this:

That's undoubtedly good news for the agency. I figured it was going to congressional allocation but why are there things here that make it sound like the FCC is cashing out big? I mean, reserve prices? Why does the FCC care how many billion it is?

Recession overrated.

[Besna]

The economic cycle of boom and bust is based on traditional theories of static job types. It does not take into account productivity. These auctions came out of thin air due to technology--the ability to squeeze far more into digital streams. Likewise, technology will raise the living standard of all. House crisis? Not when you have robotic builders.

Where have I seen this before?

[pesho]

Oh yes, the 3G spectrum auctions in Europe .

Could someone please explain to me ...

[IgnoramusMaximus]

what business exactly does a government have selling a unique public resource to some private interest (thus automatically establishing a govenment backed monopoly), rather then presiding over equitable sharing and access to the said resource by all citizens?

=wireless tax

[troll -1]

This is nothing more than a shameless tax on a free medium -- the wireless spectrum.

Historically the FCC has always accepted bids almost without regard to how the winner will use the spectrum and it's overall benefit to the consumer. This time round they have the requirement that the spectrum will be 'somewhat' open to competition by forcing the winner to allow any compatible device to use the spectrum.

But by allowing bids of +$4 billion they leave the winner no choice but to stick it to the consumer in order to get their money back. And that will come in the tried and true method of nickel and diming us for every trivial service they can think of.

The winners in this auction should be the ones who have the best ideas that will best benefit the consumer, *not* the ones who come up with the most bucks. I mean, did the FCC even consider that the 700Mhz part of the spectrum would probably be best used for a meshed Internet and that MIT already has a working prototype for such a network? Sadly we probably just gonna get another phone network based on the old 20th century model that maximizes profit and stifles innovation.