During the 2014 Winnik Forum, Julius Knapp, Chief of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission’s (“FCC”) Office of Engineering and Technology, rejected proposals to dedicate spectrum bands exclusively to Internet of Things applications.  According to Knapp, the FCC’s current “flexible use” rules for licensed and unlicensed spectrum can accommodate varied and yet-to-be-imagined applications, “negat[ing] the need for a dedicated Internet of Things allocation.”  According to Knapp, the FCC does not “expect right now that there’s…

The Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) is deep in the midst of planning the world’s first broadcast incentive auction, currently slated for mid-2015.  The auction will give over-the-air television broadcasters an opportunity to sell their valuable spectrum rights in a reverse auction process, and the FCC will then repackage this cleared spectrum and auction it to broadband wireless companies, enabling them to better meet consumer’s exploding demand for wireless data.  The Commission issued initial rules…