WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission expects to hold an auction for the remaining narrowband personal communications services licenses as early as next summer.
“At this point we don’t have a date … Most likely the auction will occur in the second half of 2000 or the first half of 2001,” said Meribeth McCarrick, spokeswoman for the FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau.
In preparation for the auction, the FCC plans to issue auction rules during the first quarter.
The FCC released proposed rules on what should be done with the remaining one megahertz of spectrum set aside for narrowband PCS in 1997, but has taken no action since.
Before it moves forward with another auction of this type, the paging industry believes the government should examine the state of the industry.
“This is the type of service that the paging industry is evolving to. We welcome the continued dialogue. We believe the record needs to be refreshed,” said Rob Hoggarth, senior vice president of paging and messaging for the Personal Communications Industry Association.
The FCC would not be specific about whether it will go ahead with an auction without first refreshing the record. “We are considering [such an action] and we may seek further comment before an auction,” McCarrick said.
