TV Stations Agree to Sell Enough Spectrum to Meet FCC’s Goal

The FCC on Friday said it reached its greatest hopes for the amount of spectrum it would be able to offer to wireless carriers in an auction scheduled to begin in late May. Television stations flocked to provide the spectrum, promising to sell enough of the valuable airwaves they use for broadcast programming to reach the agency’s maximum target for the auction. The airwaves will be reconfigured for the next generation of wireless services for mobile phones, cars and other devices that will connect to the Internet.

According to The NY Times, the auction is drawing attention because of the kind of spectrum that is becoming available: low-band spectrum that is valuable for its robust qualities and capacity to penetrate thick walls and travel far distances. The sale of such choice spectrum is rare; the last auction in this band category was in 2008, and there are no plans for similar offerings in the near future.

Tom Wheeler

“Today’s announcement reflects the voluntary decision by many broadcasters that this auction truly is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Tom Wheeler, the F.C.C. chairman, said in a statement.

The auction will be a multistep process aimed for completion in the late fall. Some analysts put the potential proceeds from the auction at tens of billions of dollars, but the final amount won’t be disclosed — nor will the sellers and buyers — until the auction is complete. All proceeds beyond what is given back to television stations will go to the Treasury.

The announcement was significant because there had been doubts as to whether television stations would want to provide enough spectrum for the auction. The great interest to cash out highlights the pressure on broadcasters, which face competition from the Internet, a dwindling advertisement market in nonelection years and aging audiences.

As a consequence of the auction, some television stations may close. Stations do not necessarily have to shut down if they sell airwaves. They may agree to stay open in their markets by channel-sharing with other local stations.

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