FCC's Airwaves Sale May Fail to Create Public-Safety Network

FCC'S AIRWAVES SALE MAY FAIL TO CREATE PUBLIC-SAFETY NETWORK
[SOURCE: Bloomberg, AUTHOR: Molly Peterson mpeterson9@bloomberg.net]
The biggest U.S. sale of mobile- phone airwaves may fail in its goal of creating a national wireless network for emergency communications during disasters. The auction so far has raised almost $20 billion as bids surpassed government projections on all airwaves except the set designed to be shared with police and fire officials. For that group, the only bid is two-thirds less than the $1.3 billion minimum set by the government. "The price, coupled with the restrictions, was too much for any bidder to stomach," said Carol Mattey, managing director of telecom regulatory consulting at Deloitte & Touche. "One or the other of those things has to change."
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