On Friday, the Federal Communications Commission released an order addressing the auction of non full-CONUS DBS satellite orbital locations, saying its has the authority to assign the slots via competitive bidding.
The auction faced challenges, including questions whether the commission should impose eligibility restrictions on companies participating in the competitive bidding process. The FCC said its authority to auction non full-CONUS slots has not been altered by regulatory and statutory actions taken since DBS auctions were last held.
The move will enable the FCC to auction DBS licenses at 175 degrees, 166 degrees and 157 degrees. No auction date has been set.
Meanwhile, the auction for Multichannel Video Distribution and Data Service (MVDDS) licenses continued to move Thursday.
So far, the MVDDS auction has grossed $45 million. The top three participants are: DTV Norwich, which has bid $27 million; South.com, minority-owned by EchoStar, bidding $13.4 million; and MDS Operations, bidding $2.646 million.
Satellite interests have been watching MVDDS closely. The wireless technology will share the same spectrum used by satellite TV services, which have industry interests worried about interference with their services.
