TPI Winter Spectrum Series kicks off with a virtual panel and fireside chat to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the first spectrum auction by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 1994. These auctions revolutionized the telecommunications industry. The first two of six events will be held on Monday, January 29.

Monday January 29, 2024 – 10:00 am – 11:00 am ET on Zoom
30 Years of Auctions: Looking Back and Looking Ahead

Since 1994, the FCC has conducted over 100 auctions and raised hundreds of billions of dollars in bids. Countries around the world have also implemented auctions for commercial spectrum, enabling mobile connectivity in flexible use licenses. In this panel, we assess the most impactful auctions such as the broadcast incentive auction, C-Band auction, and CBRS auction. Why were some auctions and bands more successful than others? What have we learned? What is possible for the future of spectrum property rights?

• Umair Javed, Senior Vice President, Spectrum, CTIA
• Jon Leibovitz, Principal, Jupiterra LLC
• Giulia McHenry, Chief, Office of Economics and Analysis, Federal Communications Commission (invited)
• Becky Tangren, Vice President and Associate General Counsel, NCTA
• Sarah Oh Lam, Senior Fellow, Technology Policy Institute (moderator)

Monday, January 29, 2024 – 4 pm – 4:45 pm ET on Zoom
Beauty Contests to Auctions: What Is the Next Step?

Auctions have brought market mechanisms to the distribution of exclusive use spectrum licenses to highest bidders. The allocation stage of selecting band plans, however, remains a beauty contest. Is this inevitable? Aside from innovations in the clearing and distribution stage, such as incentive auctions, are there innovations in how to introduce market mechanisms to the allocation stage?

• Evan Kwerel, Senior Economist, Federal Communications Commission (invited)
• Paul Milgrom, Shirley and Leonard Ely Professor of Humanities and Sciences in the Department of Economics at Stanford University and Nobel Laureate in Economics
• Scott Wallsten, President and Senior Fellow, Technology Policy Institute (moderator)