The buzz
in the IBC Daily newsroom yesterday was the ongoing controversy swirling around
UK plans to auction off spectrum. Catherine Smadja, head of special projects,
policy, and strategy at the BBC, came out swinging against any ideas of
auctioning off spectrum following the DTV transition in the UK. “I hope other
countries will follow a different route,” she told Kate Bulkley of the IBC
Daily about Ofcom plans to hold technology- and service-neutral auctions of
spectrum.
While her
words are wise, especially when it comes to the simple statement that the quick
pace of technological change should cause a government to proceed modestly with
auctions that will have long-term effects, don't expect any nation to step up —
especially when it’s using taxpayer dollars to bail out financial institutions.
Expect the desperate times to become more desperate.
For the
record, Ofcom is still in the consulting phase with respect to post-DTV
transition spectrum allocations.
