The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has postponed a vote on a plan to auction a new piece of wireless spectrum to give the regulator more time to consider concerns raised by some US mobile operators, reports Reuters. The commission was due to vote on the auctioning of the 25MHz piece of spectrum in the 2155-2180MHz band this Thursday. Under the current proposals, the winning bidder would have to build-out the system to serve half of the US population within four years, rising to 95 percent within ten years. Another condition is likely to be that the operator will need to use a portion of the airwaves for free Internet access and will be required to filter out pornographic content.

However, FCC chairman Kevin Martin told Reuters that the regulator needed more time to investigate fears that the new airwaves will interfere with existing wireless services. Some existing spectrum-owners have called for the FCC to adopt new rules to guard against interference, though Martin described the current protection levels as used in previous auctions as “fair.” Despite the delay, Martin said the FCC should meet an August timeline for approving the auction rules, meaning the auction could take place by the end of this year.