TV Spectrum Auction – What’s Next?

In the nearly two months since the FCC’s Incentive Auction Report & Order, not much has transpired, at least publicly. That’s a little surprising to us given the several additional rulemaking proceedings that are necessary before the auction can take place.

The Report & Order communicated certain urgency and planned additional rulemaking proceedings on many matters, including deciphering precisely how to calculate total post-auction interference to broadcasters, ways to assist LPTV and TV translator stations that are displaced, and more specifics on reimbursement costs, yet none of those proceedings have left the starting blocks. And despite hiring an investment firm for the job, the FCC’s promised outreach to broadcast stations on the value of their spectrum has not publicly begun either. In fact, we’ve not even seen publication of the Report & Order in the Federal Register, a necessary precursor to starting the shot clock on legal challenges.

Perhaps next month will present some action items, but that may depend on how many staffers take vacation during August, an historically popular month for a break from Washington D.C.