This story originally appeared in TV Technology.
WASHINGTON: The Federal Communications Commission is proposing to carve out another 40 MHz for broadband out of mobile satellite services spectrum, and has formed an Incentive Auction Task Force.
Ruth Milkman, the former Wireless Bureau chief who is now special counsel to the chairman, will head up the task force, which will manage the auction process of redesignating broadcast TV channel for broadband. She’ll be joined by Rick Kaplan, who now heads Wireless; Julius Knapp, head of the Office of Engineering and Technology; FCC Chief Economist Marius Schwartz; Chief Technologist Henning Schulzrinne and General Counsel Austin Schlick, among others.
The commission also issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to open up 40 MHz of spectrum in the 2 GHz Mobile Satellite Services band for wireless broadband. The proposed rules would allow flexible use of the targeted spectrum and reflects the directives in the National Broadband Plan. A related Notice of Inquiry seeks comment on more strategies to free up additional spectrum. The docket No. is 12-70.
