Experts Worry FCC Faces Challenges Completing 2.5 GHz Auction on Tight Schedule

Wireless Future Project director Michael Calabrese is quoted in a Communications Daily article about the Federal Communications Commission’s 2.5 GHz auction decisions, outlining why the FCC would go with a multi-round format.

“The main impact of a multi-round format is to allow T-Mobile to acquire whatever 2.5 GHz spectrum they want and at a lower price,” emailed Michael Calabrese, director of the Wireless Future Program at New America: “While this format will put smaller and rural broadband providers at a distinct disadvantage, the proxy bidding feature and spectrum mapping tool are innovations that should also reduce costs and increase participation by smaller ISPs. The biggest shortcoming, decided under the [Ajit] Pai FCC, is not having a cap on the total amount of 2.5 GHz spectrum that can be controlled by a single provider.”