O'Rielly Proposes Spectrum-for-Cash Swap for Federal Agencies
FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly proposed government use the budgeting process to encourage federal agencies to give up more spectrum they use. A lack of spectrum is “choking future economic progress,” O’Rielly blogged Wednesday. “Some consider the incentives offered to government…
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agencies to be fairly paltry (e.g., five or ten percent of auction revenues) and not worth the time and effort.” Some predict it could take 30-50 percent of auction gross proceeds to pique agencies' interest, he said. “To bring about some systemic efficiencies to Federal agency spectrum holdings, I suggest that federal agencies be permitted to use their spectrum holdings to offset the annual budgetary caps and sub caps,” O’Rielly said. “In achieving its respective budget limits, a federal agency could substitute the market value -- as determined by an average of Congressional Budget Office and Office of Management and Budget estimates -- of their surrendered spectrum to offset other cuts or even expand its spending options. It amounts to a spectrum-for-cash swap.” The FCC needs to act on rules for planned auctions, including for high-frequency spectrum, O’Rielly said in a speech Wednesday to the seventh Congreso Internacional de Espectro in Bogotá. “These auctions should occur as soon as possible, but at a minimum we should schedule them so that interested parties can plan appropriately,” he said. “Planning ahead is especially important, because the auction rules will need to be considered and implemented. ... Auction policy is rarely done hastily.” O’Rielly offered the international audience a broad view of FCC action so far across the spectrum front, according to prepared remarks. U.S players are very interested in the 24 GHz and 42 GHz bands “as they are near the 28 GHz and 37 and 39 GHz bands the U.S. has already opened,” he said. “As devices can be manufactured to operate over tuning ranges, these frequencies are near bands that other countries are considering, such as 26 GHz, for 5G, creating opportunities for de facto global harmonization.” O’Rielly urged other nations in the Americas to work together headed into the World Radiocommunication Conference in 2019.