FCC spectrum sale to help fund payroll tax extension
Tuesday - 2/21/2012, 11:42am EST
Alan Tilles, head of the telecommunications department, Shulman, Rogers, Gandal, Pordy and Ecker
When Congress last week passed a year-long extension to the payroll tax break, it found several ways to pay for it. One way is for the Federal Communications Commission to sell a section of unused broadcast spectrum for wireless broadband and public safety applications.
According to The Washington Post, the spectrum auction is expected to raise as much as $25 billion.
The process, however, could take a decade, said attorney Alan Tilles, head of the telecommunications department at Shulman, Rogers, Gandal, Pordy and Ecker, explains how the sale would work.
The first step now is for the FCC to conduct a rule-making proceeding to actually implement the bill, Tilles said.
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