The US is facing a spectrum crunch and incentive auctions can help close the gap between spectrum availability and the booming demand for new mobile services, speakers said at an October 21 workshop organised by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The devil, as always, is in the detail. Read more...

UK regulator Ofcom has revealed that it will reduce its budget by £30 million over the next five years, losing almost one fifth of its employees in the process. Read more...

Irish regulator ComReg has rethought its position on how best to handle redistribution of the 800 and 900 MHz bands and is now proposing a single award process in the form of a joint auction, to be held in 2011, rather than awarding the bands in isolation. Read more...

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has published a 60-page discussion paper on its initial plans for allocating the digital dividend following the switch from analogue to digital broadcasting. Read more...

UK regulator Ofcom has published an update to its “evolving” spectrum plan for the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games, including responses to its consultation on reserving use of the 2.6 GHz band for the event. Read more...

Not only is the issue of potential interference by new mobile services with cable and programme-making and special events (PMSE) equipment in the digital dividend band unresolved, a new study has found additional cause for concern from LTE base stations. Read more...

National Media and Communications Authority (NMHH) Read more...

The US telecoms industry is awash with rumours suggesting that national WiMAX operator Clearwire has launched a private auction of its excess 2.6 GHz spectrum. Read more...

An announcement by Mexican President Felipe Calderón that the 700 MHz band could be licensed in 2012, bringing the switchover from analogue to digital broadcasting forward six years from 2021 to 2015, is set to stimulate new debate on the digital dividend in Latin America. Read more...

An announcement by Mexican President Felipe Calderón that the 700 MHz band could be licensed in 2012, bringing the switchover from analogue to digital broadcasting forward six years from 2021 to 2015, is set to stimulate new debate on the digital dividend in Latin America. Read more...