Spectrum value is lost when incumbents get the FCC to modify their licenses at no charge, said J.H. Snider, research director of New America Foundation's Wireless Future Program. To protect spectrum value, the FCC should charge for license revisions, Snider, author of a paper on spectrum "giveaway," told a Tuesday panel. Another participant estimated that the U.S. loses out on $10 billion yearly in potential fees.

Changing the parameters of a license changes the value of the spectrum involved, according Snider. An example of "free" modification is the change from site-based to geographic-based licensing and digital rights for cellular. Without such modifications, licenses now held by cellphone companies in the 800 MHz band would be worth far less, Snider said. After next year, when the FCC completes the auction of the 700 MHz band spectrum, nearly all spectrum below 3 GHz will have been assigned. This means "the name of the game going forward will be the license modification," said Snider. License changes are popular with incumbents because they "can be done quietly, under the radar," he said.

"You have to have a Ph.D. in spectrum technology to know what is going on," Snider said. Former Rep. Bob Edgar, D- Pa., president of Common Cause, agreed. People will not get excited about this issue unless they understand it, he said...

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