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FCC Airwaves Auction Sets Record

But a band that required open access drew a low price

By Lucas Laursen, Newser Staff

Posted Mar 19, 2008 8:26 AM CDT

(Newser) – The FCC earned a record $19.6 billion auctioning soon-to-be-available airwaves to wireless network providers, the Wall Street Journal reports after months of bidding closed yesterday. While the auction exceeded the $15 billion the agency expected, it could have earned still more if it hadn’t placed restrictions on certain blocks of frequencies, critics say.

Under pressure from Google, which participated in the auction, the FCC specified that the buyer of one block of frequencies keep its network open to devices or software supplied by outside companies. That block sold for just $15 million more than the $4.6 billion reserve price. An unrestricted block with a reserve price of $1.4 billion sold for $9.1 billion. Buyers won’t be announced until later this week.

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas in this Jan. 8. 2008 file photo. The FCC auctioned nearly $20 billion worth of frequency bands to telecom providers. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

Google participated in the FCC auction on Tuesday, March 18, 2008, spurring rumors that it might open its own network. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, file)

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas in a file photo Tuesday, Jan. 8. 2007. The FCC auctioned nearly $20 billion worth of frequency bands to telecom providers. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

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FCC Airwaves Auction Sets Record

But a band that required open access drew a low price

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