From the report: "Since 1994, FCC has used competitive bidding, or auctions, to assign licenses to commercial entities for their use of spectrum; however, its authority to use auctions expires on September 30, 2012.
Among other things, GAO examined the extent to which FCC has made spectrum available for new commercial uses and the time taken to do so, experts’ and stakeholders’ views on FCC’s plans and recent actions to meet future spectrum needs, and experts’ and stakeholders’ views on the continued use of auctions to assign spectrum. To address these objectives, GAO reviewed FCC’s plans, notices, and orders; reviewed six instances in which FCC made spectrum available for new commercial uses; and surveyed 30 experts and 79 industry stakeholders about their views on FCC’s efforts to make spectrum available for new uses, its plans and actions to meet future needs, and its continued use of auctions (the survey had a 68 percent response rate)." Read more
