Report: Don?t impose limits on spectrum auction

A trio of Georgetown University economists have released a study which evaluates the bidding rules being considered for the upcoming federal spectrum auction. As Georgetown describes it, “The study specifically considers whether auction rules that could limit the bidding rights of the nation’s two largest wireless service providers would make for an efficient auction that enables spectrum to be put to its highest value and most productive use.”

In short, they oppose the limits.

In the first section of the report, Douglas Holtz‐Eakin and Coleman Bazelon conclude that restrictions will “... reduce auction revenues by as much as 40 percent ... a total of perhaps $12 billion, [which] could not only mean less spectrum for wireless services, but also could jeopardize funding for the new national network”

In the second section Robert J. Shapiro predicts that the rules “would shift spectrum resources away from some of the most efficient mobile carriers and toward less efficient carriers.” This, he believes, would result in higher consumer prices.

You can read the report here.

The Economic Implications of Restricting Spectrum Purchases in the Incentive Auctions. (Georgetown University Center for Business and Public Policy, Apr. 30, 2013)

The Economic Implications of Restricting Spectrum Purchases in the Incentive Auctions. (Full study, Apr. 30, 2013)