Broadcasters Seek $10 Billion for 84 MHZ

Broadcasters asked $10 billion for 84 MHz in the fourth stage of the TV spectrum incentive reverse auction, which concluded as scheduled on Friday, Jan. 13. The 84 MHz clearing target will yield 70 MHz of spectrum for wireless bidders in the fourth-stage forward auction, with the remaining 14 MHz dedicated to interference buffer zones, or “guard bands.” The fourth-stage forward auction is tentatively scheduled to begin Wednesday, Jan. 18. The Federal Communications Commission previously said it would confirm this date on Tuesday, Jan. 17-the day after the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day federal holiday -but that “forward auction bidders should be prepared for bidding to begin that day.”