New Paper Discusses the Value Created by Quickly Clearing the C-Band Spectrum

Brattle Principal Coleman Bazelon and Senior Consultant Paroma Sanyal have recently authored a paper titled Value Creation from an Accelerated Clearing of the C-Band Spectrum.

Dr. Bazelon has presented this research to Congressional and FCC staffers. Currently, one of the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC’s) topmost policy priorities is to enable the rapid deployment of 5G networks and services. The authors provide an economic analysis of the value created by accelerating the transition of C-band spectrum for 5G use.

In order for the clearing of the C-band to be most beneficial, the FCC should adopt a structure that repurposes the C-band spectrum as soon as possible. The solution analysed by the authors sets an “accelerated clearing fee” that the winners of the C-band auction would pay to the satellite operators in exchange for the clearing of the spectrum within 18–36 months. The fee would be directly related to the benefits to the new licensees from the accelerated spectrum clearing.

The authors quantified both the value of the spectrum under a baseline transition and the increase in value that would benefit new licensees from an accelerated clearing. They determined that setting an accelerated clearing fee, paid by new licensees to the impacted satellite operators, at 100% of the auction winning bids would conservatively reflect the value created by the accelerated spectrum clearing.

The paper, which was developed for an FCC filing, Value Creation from an Accelerated Clearing of the C-Band Spectrum, is available on C-Band’s website.