Susan Crawford on the FCC Auction

As many in our community are well aware, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has scheduled a date for the auction of the 700MHz band, formerly occupied by television broadcasters: January 16, 2008.  The Digital Television and Public Safety Act of 2005 requires the FCC to conduct the auction prior to January 28th, as well as complete the transition of television from broadcast to digital by February of 2009.

This has been a hotly debated issue, with a number of interest groups stepping up to the mic to voice their opinions and concerns.  Our good friend Susan Crawford, an Assistant Professor at the Cardozo Law School, has maintained a steady and thorough flow of analysis on her blog regarding the issue.  She also recently posted a working paper that, as the abstract states:

"evaluates the multi-billion-dollar 700 MHz auction regime established by the Federal Communications Commission in August 2007 as a case study in our national approach to this valuable resource, and argues that the public interest would best be served by having ubiquitous access to the internet be the top priority of communications policy."

The paper is available for free download at SSRN.

Susan is also the driving force behind One Web Day, which will be celebrated for the 2nd time on the 22nd of this month.  Stay tuned to find out how the Berkman Center and others will celebrate and commemorate this wonderful occasion.