No Windfall in an Auction of the White Space

In a last ditch effort to derail the opening of vacant TV channels for unlicensed broadband and innovation, TV band incumbents have begun beating the drums for an auction, claiming there is a pot of gold in the "Swiss cheese" spectrum that separates local DTV stations.   A new working paper, released by New America's Wireless Future Program explains why these claims are fool's gold that would result not only in a failed auction and negligible revenue, but the continued waste of invaluable TV band spectrum.

Wasted White Space

Rather than a windfall, a one-time auction of licenses useful for commercial services would provide negligible revenue to the Treasury, while simultaneously ensuring that most of this unused "beachfront" spectrum will remain unused, stifling innovation that could generate far more long-term economic growth and benefits. Given the need for expanded interference protections for higher-power licensed use, many of thethe nation's most populous metropolitan areas would have little or no useable white space available for an auction.

Previous | Image 1 of 2 | Next

Available White Space Unlicensed v. Licensed

The working paper can be found here.