Public Knowledge Statement on FCC Inspector General Report
Public Knowledge Statement on FCC Inspector General Report
Public Knowledge Statement on FCC Inspector General Report

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    Public Knowledge Statement on FCC Inspector General Report

    Earlier today, the Inspector General of the Federal Communications Commission released a report on the bidding for the D Block in the recent spectrum auction. The report is here.

    For background, please refer to this blog post that discussions some of the same issues as the IG report: http://www.publicknowledge.org/node/1479

    The following is the statement of Gigi B. Sohn, president and co-founder of Public Knowledge:

    “We are pleased that the Commission responded swiftly and thoroughly to our request for an investigation whether any rules were broken during the bidding for the D Block in the recent spectrum auction. It appears there were none.

    “However, even this narrow investigation showed that the D-block auction was fatally flawed by terms and conditions set both by the Commission and by the public safety community. The controversial $50 million lease payments suggested by the public-safety community to potential bidders were only one factor. While the Inspector General found that none of this was against the rules, the conclusion needs to be drawn that the auction was doomed to failure. The Commission should take a more active role in future auctions to make certain public safety receives the spectrum it deserves. We look forward to the Commission's notice on the next version of the auction.”

    Members of the media may contact Communications Director Shiva Stella with inquiries, interview requests, or to join the Public Knowledge press list at shiva@publicknowledge.org or 405-249-9435.