IP: seattle times: faulhaber and farber call for "big bang" auction

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

------ Forwarded Message
From: "Nancy Gohring" <ngohring () seattletimes com>
Date: Mon, 17 Jun 2002 09:18:58 -0700
To: <farber () cis upenn edu>
Subject: seattle times: faulhaber and farber call for "big bang" auction

hi dave, 

thought you might be interested in this article about fcc spectrum
auction reform. it refers to the paper you've prepared with gerry
faulhaber:

In an unpublished paper, the Wharton School's Faulhaber and a colleague
propose a broad revamping of spectrum policy, the gist of which is this:
"Get the FCC and the NTIA out of the spectrum business and have
secondary markets," said Faulhaber.

He and the paper's co-author, David Farber, former chief technologist at
the FCC and a telecommunications-systems professor at the University of
Pennsylvania, suggest that the FCC have one "big bang" auction.

The plan, based on an idea originated by FCC staffers Evan Kwerel and
John Williams, involves throwing all available spectrum on the auction
block and allowing existing license owners to add their licenses, too.
Once companies or individuals emerge as bid winners, they would be free
to buy and sell their rights at will.

As part of the plan, Faulhaber envisions that the federal government
would buy some of the spectrum for anyone to use, similar to the concept
of national parks. Local communities or even individuals could buy
spectrum as well and create a shared area.

Faulhaber thinks the FCC needs such a dramatic change. "If the system is
broken, and it really is, you're not going to fix it by patches," he
said. 

here's the link to the whole story
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/134476462_spect
rum17.html


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