Spectrum Bridge to host secondary spectrum auction
LAS VEGAS — Online spectrum exchange company Spectrum Bridge today announced at IWCE that it will host the first online spectrum auction conducted by a private entity in about three months. The swaths include UHF airwaves in Las Vegas and VHF frequencies throughout most of Florida.
The UHF spectrum covers Clark County, Nev., which includes metro Las Vegas. During IWCE, the spectrum is being used to host a demonstration of Motorola’s MotoTRBO radio system.
“The UHF spectrum is Part 22 spectrum,” said Rick Rotondo, vice president of marketing for Spectrum Bridge. “It used to be paging spectrum, but you can use it for SMR, two-way radio, data and telemetry — you can pretty much use it for anything you would use Part 90 for.”
In addition, because the UHF spectrum is earmarked for Part 22 services, the frequencies are not subject to the FCC’s narrowbanding mandate for Part 90 spectrum below 512 MHz, Rotondo said.
In terms of the VHF spectrum, the frequencies being auctioned cover about 90% of the state of Florida, Rotondo said. In both cases, the spectrum in question can support five or six channels throughout the respective coverage areas, he said.
Selling the spectrum is Scott MacIntyre, who is president of several wireless companies.
“I have multiple wireless networks operating across the United States and continue to focus my resources on growing these operational markets, but we just can’t be everywhere,” MacIntyre said in a prepared statement. “I feel that selling the spectrum assets in Las Vegas and Florida will raise enough capital to expand our current business plans in our core markets.”
Rotondo said Spectrum Bridge plans to host the auction in about 90 days, but a firm start date has not been determined. In addition, the style of the auction — a one-day bidding process or one that is conducted over multiple days — also is unknown at this point.
Rotondo said one reason MacIntyre opted for an online auction was in an effort to ensure that all potential bidders would feel comfortable pursuing the spectrum.
“[MacIntyre] even said, ‘What if one of my competitors is interested in this? They might not want to approach me directly, because they might not think I’m interested or that I would [negotiate unfairly] with them or whatever,'” he said. “This way, it’s a level playing field for anybody.”
