Auction 58, which has officially ended after almost 3 weeks, raised $2.043 billion, substantially less than the $3 billion to $4 billion estimated by analysts, and only a fraction of the $16.8 billion bid in auction 35, the original attempt to sell NextWave’s former licenses in late 2000-early 2001. Gross bids before subtraction of bidding credits stood at $2.254 billion. The auction ended after 91 rounds of bidding.

The FCC at its meeting Thurs. proposed to eliminate unnecessary regulatory restrictions in the 900 MHz spectrum band and allow more flexible use of “white spaces” there. Specifically, the FCC proposed to amend Part 90 of its rules to provide more flexible use of the 199 channels allocated to the business and industrial land transportation (BILT) pools in the 896-901/935-940 MHz. “We believe that these unused spectrum and channels can and should be auctioned to the carriers that can put them to the highest-valued use,” said FCC Wireless Bureau Mobility Div. Attorney Advisor Michael Connelly in presenting the item.

The FCC revised its auction attribution rules, saying the determination of a bona fide co-op shouldn’t be based on the co-op’s tax exempt status. It also allowed rural telecom co-ops to demonstrate their co-op status either under Sec. 501(c)(12) of the IRS Code or by adhering to the co-op principles enumerated in Puget Sound Plywood v. Comr. of Internal Revenue. The FCC action was in response to an NTCA petition seeking to clarify a rule that determined how co-ops were granted a limited exemption from the auction attribution rules. The FCC had revised its rules so affiliates of a co-op’s officers and directors wouldn’t count against the co-op to determine whether it was eligible for auction bidding credits. But the exemption was only available to co-ops that satisfied all components of a “3-part test,” including procession of tax-exempt status. “The problem with that is that cooperatives can provide service to non-members [and] can also set up subsidiaries,” NTCA Senior Regulatory Counsel Jill Canfield told us: “Those things don’t really affect the cooperative, but… could make the cooperative no longer tax-exempt.” In its Jan. 31 order, the FCC granted a petition for reconsideration filed by NTCA and other rural carriers, admitting that the tax-exempt element of its 3-part test could prevent legitimate telephone co-ops from taking advantage of bidding credits. NTCA applauded the decision, which it said eliminated “an anomaly” in its competitive bidding rules that “threatened the ability of rural telephone cooperatives to provide new and advanced wireless telecommunications services to rural areas.” It said the ruling would help ensure NTCA member co-ops have access to bidding credits at future spectrum auctions. FCC Comr. Adelstein said in a statement he was “very pleased” with the decision, which he said would “promote the interests of cooperatives in expanding the scope of their telecommunications services while still ensuring that the benefits of this important exemption are limited to bona fide cooperatives.”

The FCC Wireless Bureau announced the auction of 5 licenses in the lower 700 MHz band C block (710-716/740- 746 MHz) to begin July 20. The licenses are relatively small -- those that remained unsold after Auction 49 in 2003. The biggest is for Mayaguez, P.R. Auction 60 will be the first to use the FCC’s Integrated Spectrum Auction System, a redesigned auction application and bidding systems.

Verizon Wireless and investor Mario Gabelli are among those signaling they plan to play a big role in PCS Auction 58, starting Jan. 26, based on information released by the FCC late Tues. Early indications, meanwhile, were that the FCC could see an active, competitive auction. As expected, 4 of the 5 national carriers will participate. Also, 2 formerly bankrupt carriers, Leap and MetroPCS, made major upfront bids. Altogether, 35 companies put in $325.3 million - less than 10% of what the auction is likely to fetch.

LAS VEGAS -- Congress will “push” this year to “get more certainty” in the DTV transition and the turn-off of analog broadcast signals, predicted Pete Filon, minority counsel of the House Commerce Committee. Speaking here at the CES, he said Congress will consider subsidizing converter boxes to display DTV on analog sets.

LAS VEGAS -- Verizon Wireless announced Fri. plans to launch the first U.S. 3G multimedia network starting next month at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, a service that it is branding as Vcast. CEO Dennis Strigl said Verizon likely can take the service national with spectrum it now controls, and with a few additions the company will have enough spectrum to meet its needs beyond 2010.

NTIA sent an aggressive signal Thurs. that the govt. will move quickly to take the steps needed for a planned June 2006 auction of advanced wireless service (AWS) spectrum. The agency sent federal agencies formal notification of their new obligations under the spectrum transition fund bill (HR-5419) signed into law by President Bush on Dec. 23. NTIA asked each affected agency to submit its cost estimates and schedule for relocation by Sept. 15.

Chmn. Powell formally asked the NTIA on Wed. to begin the process that will lead to an auction of 90 MHz of spectrum for advanced wireless services (AWS) in June 2006. Powell also announced the auction of other spectrum at 1432- 1435 MHz in July or Aug. of the same year. Wireless carriers have called on the FCC to act quickly to initiate the AWS auction and were pleased with the Powell letter.

President Bush signed legislation (HR 5419) on Dec. 23 that created a spectrum relocation trust fund that will guarantee that auction revenue can easily be used to move Dept. of Defense and other govt. users off the 1710-1755 MHz parts of the band. The legislation also provides funding for state and local govts. for wireless E911, and resolves accounting issues that had been causing some problems for the universal service fund (USF). Specifically on the last issue, the act provides a one-year exemption from the application of govt. accounting rules to USF programs, including E-rate. The next step on the spectrum trust fund is the transmittal of a letter from the FCC to NTIA asking it to start the process of clearing the spectrum. After the notification is sent, the govt. has 12 months to calculate costs and set a schedule for relocation and must notify the FCC 6 months before an auction.