The FCC can kill technologies simply by deciding that others are more deserving of the space. At its core, spectrum is managed just as it was back in the 1930s. Auctions are encumbered by a host of rules, caps on how much any company can own, and on and on.
Companies don t have any real property rights on the spectrum they use.
More recently, the Commerce Department echoed the urgency of clearing the way for so-called Third Generation wireless. Asia and Europe are on the verge of surpassing the U.S., it noted, as did congressional Democrats earlier this month. But that sense of urgency hasn t been matched with government action. Six months after Clinton issued his directive, the Federal Communications Commission is still trying to scrape together available spectrum. It missed Clinton s December deadline for identifying available space.