Reserve Didn't Have Negative Effect on Incentive Auction, CCA Official Says
The record shows the spectrum reserve had little effect on the TV incentive auction, said Competitive Carriers Association General Counsel Rebecca Thompson in a Wednesday blog post. The reserve set aside 30 MHz for bidders who don’t have low-band holdings…
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of 45 MHz or more in a single market (see 1508060028). About 90.4 percent of the auction’s overall $19.6 billion in revenue was bid before the auction satisfied the conditions for the reserve, Thompson said. In a few markets, reserve blocks sold at a higher price than non-reserve blocks, she said. “The spectrum reserve worked exactly as intended,” Thompson wrote. “The market-based mechanism provided greater access to critical low-band resources for all, without the threat of market dominance thwarting competition. By stimulating interest and increasing participation, the spectrum reserve arguably increased auction pricing above what it might otherwise have been.”