New America Says Private Sale of C Band Would Violate Communications Act
The FCC can't legally hold a private sale of C-band spectrum, said Michael Calabrese, director of the Wireless Future Program at New America, in a meeting with Aaron Goldberger, aide to Chairman Ajit Pai. “The Public Interest Spectrum Coalition and…
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diverse industry parties have shown that a private auction or sale would violate Section 309(j) of the Communications Act and willfully ignore Congressional intent and precedent,” said a filing in docket 18-122. “The Commission has no legal authority to authorize, let alone oversee, a private auction. General provisions such as Sections 303(c), 303(r) and 4(i) cannot possibly provide the authority for a public or private auction that is not consistent with the explicit provisions of Section 309(j).” The best course is a traditional FCC auction, Calabrese said. The Free State Foundation called on the FCC to act swiftly on the C band in a filing Monday. “Time is of the essence in making additional spectrum resources available for commercial providers of next-generation mobile broadband services,” FSF said: “Hundreds of megahertz of new spectrum are needed to supply the future data-rich demands of American consumers and enterprises.”