House Small Business Committee to Kick Tires on Spectrum Auction
Panel to Examine Impact of FCC’s 700-Megahertz Auction on Small Businesses
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 10/9/2007 3:06:00 PM
The House Small Business Committee will hold a hearing Wednesday on the effects of the Federal Communications Commission's upcoming 700-megahertz auction on small businesses.
Headlining will be FCC chairman Kevin Martin.
The commission just released the rules for that auction of spectrum being reclaimed in the switch to digital TV. Those rules include credits of up to 25% off the bid price for small and "very small" businesses to encourage their participation.
The FCC also divvied some of that spectrum up into smaller geographic areas that will make it easier for smaller companies to bid on the spectrum, which is beachfront property for advanced wireless services because it is less susceptible to interference from buildings and other objects.
The auction is scheduled to begin Jan. 24, and the FCC plans to rake in at least $10 billion for the U.S. Treasury and to fund first-responder communications and the digital-to-analog converter-box-subsidy program.
