The FCC should keep the example of NextWave in mind...
The FCC should keep the example of NextWave in mind as it moves forward on rules for the pending incentive auction of broadcast spectrum, said Free State Foundation’s Seth Cooper on the group’s blog. NextWave won spectrum licenses in a…
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1996 auction then filed for bankruptcy two years later, after paying the government just $500,000 of the $4.7 billion it bid. NextWave succeeded in an auction “conducted according to a restrictive, protectionist approach instead of a truly free market approach,” leading to a decade of “messy legal battles” when that company wasn’t able to pay for the spectrum it bought, Cooper wrote (http://xrl.us/bmziav). “The FCC will hopefully show it has learned the lessons of NextWave in implementing spectrum incentive auctions and in reviewing spectrum secondary market transactions,” he said. “For the FCC, this means ensuring there is open eligibility for those entities offering the highest bids to obtain spectrum licenses. It also means auctioning spectrum licenses free from encumbrances that could depress their value. A pro-investment policy for spectrum, so vital to job growth and economic expansion, requires reliance on free market forces for ensuring spectrum licenses obtain their highest value."