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back to article FCC boss pleads with Congress: Please stop me from auctioning off this spectrum for billions of dollars

The head of America's communications regulator has asked Congress to intervene to stop him from auctioning off radio spectrum for billions of dollars, warning that if they don’t change the law, he’ll be obliged to do his job. “An FCC auction of the T-band is a bad idea. But as of today, the law mandates that we do it,” FCC …

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  1. kegjr

    Do It

    Hope this happens ! The Living Faith Television transmitter located on Brumley Mtn. and operating on CH 14 has caused harmful interference to repeaters located in the same area. They have refused to do anything and the FCC allows them to do so.

    0 1 Reply
    1. batfink
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      Re: Do It

      Are you sure it's not spreading C-19 as well?

      7 0 Reply
    2. vogon00
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      Re: Do It

      Isn't a .50 cal round through the antenna feeder or some vital bit of kit a solution?

      0 0 Reply
  2. ComputerSays_noAbsolutelyNo Silver badge

    The magic of political magic.

    Let's cut taxes now, and the future will pay for this.

    How, you ask? We will auction off some spectrum.

    You know, an invisible product is the best product.

    3 0 Reply
    1. Giovani Tapini
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      Re: The magic of political magic.

      The emperors new spectrum....

      3 0 Reply
  3. Pascal Monett Silver badge

    So it's actually more of the same

    Pai is not acting to protect emergency services or - heaven forbid ! - consumers, he's acting to save telcos from forking over money for spectrum they don't need now.

    The fact that this, for once, actually helps other people, is not on his mind.

    8 0 Reply
    1. Anonymous Coward
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      Anonymous Coward

      Re: So it's actually more of the same

      It has to be another reason than that, the telcos don't have to pay anything if they don't bid for the spectrum. Unless they all bid for it as a just in case we are going to miss out on something and they don't want that gamble.

      0 0 Reply
      1. doublelayer Silver badge
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        Re: So it's actually more of the same

        I'm not that knowledgeable about this band, but I've just done some searching about who currently uses it. Sure, there are emergency services on the list. It seems mostly to be extra capacity needed in urban areas, but not their main bands. However, I note one other user, American UHF channels 14-20. Maybe it's me being paranoid, but I'm wondering about that television company that has been so linked to this director before. I wonder how many stations they have using those channels and how expensive it would be to move them. That will probably require more research, but it might explain some of the vehemence.

        2 0 Reply
        1. John Geek
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          Re: So it's actually more of the same

          I suspect those broadcast channels would be grandfathered in, such that any services in a region are on unused UHF channels.

          0 0 Reply
  4. JacobZ

    No real danger

    If this depends on Pai actually doing his job, we're all going to be fine.

    2 1 Reply
    1. The First Dave
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      Re: No real danger

      I get that the legislation requires this auction, but if he cares so much, what would happen if he just ignored it? Serious question - does Pai really think that the local plod will knock on his door the next day?

      0 2 Reply
      1. Claptrap314 Silver badge
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        Re: No real danger

        Think carefully about what you are suggesting. You REALLY don't want bureaucrats to become completely untethered from the law.

        2 1 Reply
        1. HereIAmJH
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          Re: No real danger

          They already are untethered. If they do something that they shouldn't, they either claim the law doesn't apply to them or fire the career overseers and appoint political hacks.

          1 2 Reply
        2. doublelayer Silver badge
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          Re: No real danger

          You're absolutely right. No, I don't want that. Unfortunately, they've already started to do that. It is, for example, the FCC's responsibility to identify the companies selling location information from mobile providers, which is illegal. It is their responsibility to investigate those places and fine them, and it is their responsibility to collect those fines. They have instead chosen to ... do nothing. If they are already placing themselves above that law, I don't see a reason they'd balk at placing themselves above another law.

          1 0 Reply
          1. Claptrap314 Silver badge
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            Re: No real danger

            Oh, I agree that we already have it. You just REALLY don't want it. (Neither do I.)

            0 0 Reply
  5. vogon00

    Fiddle with First Responders...

    at your own risk.

    I know jack about the US Spectrum, it's usage and associated costs, including of course this 'T' band...

    However, messing about with the Systems/Processes used by First Responders (no matter what side of the pond you are on) is not a good thing - even if people want more cellular bandwidth, for less outlay.

    Perhaps someone could ask the British ambassador how the ESN job (Emergency Services Network) is going here in the UK. For our 'merican cousins, this involves moving all 'Blue Light' services (Fire/Police/Ambulance/Coast Guard/Transport police/etc.) off their nataional-coverage TETRA radio networks on to ..... LTE.

    Actually, perhaps I'd better call the ambassador... having been involved at the start in a very minor capacity, I'd love to find out the current state of play now....especially the bit called 'NATS'..

    0 0 Reply

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