WASHINGTON - If Congress passes pending legislation to halt the 700 MHz auction, scheduled to begin in June, "then we'll look at it on its merits," FCC Commissioner Michael Copps told reporters during a press briefing today at the commission.

But the auction should proceed so that money from the sale can be deposited in the U.S. Treasury by fall, because the FCC is supposed to implement the laws of Congress, Copps says.

He says that it's probably not an ideal time to hold the auction because it may not even generate the reserve price the FCC set or garner huge sums of money due to the economy. But that scenario is unlikely to change in six months or one year if the auction is postponed, Copps says. The FCC has set a reserve price of $2.6 billion for the upper 700 MHz band, and if the auction fails to meet that goal, the FCC will reschedule it anyway.

Separately, Copps says that he would like the digital television transition to accelerate. Digital transition is a major snag for the 700 MHz spectrum sale, since broadcasters have until 2006 or 85 percent of consumers have digital access to vacate the same spectrum for wireless service use. The broadcasters occupy the frequencies for free.

Today is the deadline for commercial television stations to be broadcasting a digital signal -- the first step in meeting the full transition deadline. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., called the DTV transition a "spectrum heist" and said that the vast majority of broadcasters missed today's deadline. Figures from the FCC and the National Association of Broadcasters indicate that 77 percent, or more than 1,011 of commercial broadcasters, failed to meet today's deadline.

"There are two things American consumers may never see on TV - first, the truth about the broadcasters trying to ransom spectrum for billions of dollars of profit, and second, a digital picture," says Tom Wheeler, CTIA president and CEO.

Previous Stories:
Sen. Stevens to Introduce Bill To Push 700 MHz Auction 4/26/02
Bill Seeks Delay Of 700 MHz Sale, CTIA Wants Review 4/24/02