I. Introduction
With the passing of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, Congress amended Section
309(j)(14) of the Communications Act of 1934, setting a February 17,
2009 deadline for the switchover from analog television to digital
television.[1] After this deadline, all full-power television station licensees that hold a license to operate on a frequency
between 698 and 806 megahertz (MHz) may no longer operate on that frequency.[2] On a television, these frequencies encompass channels 52 to 69.[3]
As a result of this freed up bandwidth going back
to the government, Congress instructed the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) to auction off licenses to operate on these
frequencies.[4]
The purpose of these auctions is to encourage the development of new
technology, to encourage competition, to recover a portion of the value
of the spectrum for public use, and to encourage efficient and
intensive use of the electromagnetic spectrum.[5] According to some estimates, … Read the rest