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The FCC should allow radio spectrum to be allocated in the same kind of real-time auction as Google allocates advertising keywords, the search giant said in a proposal filed with the FCC this week.
“The driving reason we’re doing this is that there are not enough broadband options for consumers,” Adam Kovacevich, a spokesperson for Google’s policy office in Washington, told the New York Times. “In general, it’s the belief of a lot of people in the company that spectrum is allocated in an inefficient manner.”
According to Google, only 5% of available spectrum is currently being utilized. An auction would allow licenses to farm out unused spectrum to smaller commercial operators who can’t afford to bid in the FCC’s spectrum auction directly. Ostensibly, Google would benefit from the increased competition by selling ads into the new owners’ networks.