FCC

The auction for the 700 MHz part of the spectrum that will be vacated by television broadcasters in February 2009 is set to begin on January 24 of this year. Yesterday the FCC finalized the rules of the auction and the bidders list. The spectrum to be auctioned has been divided into five blocks

labeled A - E with blocks A, B and E consisting of regional licenses that will allow smaller companies

Earlier we reported to you that the 700MHz spectrum would be auctioned off on January 16th of next year. On October 5th the FCC, in a quite lengthy public notice you can view here, postponed the auction until January 24th.

Apparently the extra 8 days are for interested parties to develop their business plans and assess market conditions. The announcement also sets a window from November 19th until