The U.S. government has given away between $140 billion and $480 billion worth of radio spectrum to wireless providers and broadcasters since 1993, according to a study released Tuesday.

The New America Foundation, a think tank calling for new ways to manage U.S. spectrum, said most of the giveaway has come not through underperforming auctions but through "below the radar" lobbying tactics by spectrum holders. Much of the spectrum giveaway comes through strategies like case-by-case waivers for flexible spectrum use granted by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), poorly defined spectrum boundaries, and spectrum holders polluting neighboring spectrum, said J.H. Snider, author of the study.

In many cases, the FCC has automatically renewed spectrum licenses even through spectrum law allows for licensing for "limited periods of time," he added.

The U.S. government raised about $40 billion in more than 80 spectrum auctions since 1993, Snider said at a forum in Washington, D.C. But wireless providers and broadcasters, in financial reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, have given that spectrum a value of about $180 billion, he said.

The spectrum is likely worth much more than those estimates, he added. Using past auction figures, the value of the spectrum could be more than $520 billion, he said...

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