Re:FCC spectrum auction bidding ends at $19.6B
by rayiner on Sunday February 12, 2017 @08:43PM
(#13632514)
That's the opposite of what should happen. One of the reasons we're stuck with broadcasters parked on beachfront spectrum was that back in the 1930s spectrum was licensed based on what would serve the "public interest" (in some bureaucrat's judgment). Back then, TV was revolutionary something something education.
Spectrum auctions were a good model when the FCC started doing them. Today we have the technology for devices to mediate spectrum use among themselves (maybe following very high level regulatory guidelines). To use an analogy: you don't "allocate road" to cars. You let drivers figure it out themselves against a background of rules for dealing with conflicts (e.g. Right of way).
Spectrum auctions were a good model when the FCC started doing them. Today we have the technology for devices to mediate spectrum use among themselves (maybe following very high level regulatory guidelines). To use an analogy: you don't "allocate road" to cars. You let drivers figure it out themselves against a background of rules for dealing with conflicts (e.g. Right of way).