Policy Innovation

So the Obama FCC is certainly working diligently to find room for expanding spectrum at the margins:

The core of the plan would ask, though not require, local TV stations to give up a chunk of the broadcast spectrum assigned to them by the Federal Communications Commission. The chunks would then be auctioned off to wireless companies with the donating broadcaster getting a piece of the of proceeds. In effect, it’s an effort to get the most out of our broadband spectrum, which is a limited quantity.

The big questions remain unanswered. How many local broadcasters will play along? Will the $30 billion that auctions of available spectrum are projected to generate over the next decade actually materialize? Regardless, the administration is rolling out an impressive national strategy for broadband development based on leveraging existing policies and institutions (viz., the rejiggered Universal Service Fund) and exploring tweaks such as this latest announcement.

With next week's release of the National Broadband Map, it's heady days in the broadband world.