RCR Wireless News reports it appears increasingly doubtful that US regulator the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will re-auction its D-Block spectrum this year. The spectrum – dedicated to the creation of a nationwide, emergency communications network for first responders – earlier this year failed to generate a minimum requirement of US$1.3 billion as part of the FCC’s 700MHz license auction. The report notes that comments on an open-ended rulemaking to re-auction the block were filed at a FCC meeting last month, whilst reply comments arrived last week. Citing comments from FCC chairman Kevin Martin, the report adds that competition for the spectrum is likely to play out under a new US administration and Congress. In addition, Martin believes that bidding on the country’s AWS-3 spectrum is also unlikely to be completed this year.

Meanwhile, Dow Jones Newswires reported last week that the FCC has taken a step toward deciding whether communication companies can have access to unused television airwaves, announcing that it will begin field-testing prototype devices. The report claims that the FCC’s ruling on how the unused airwaves will be regulated, if at all, is of crucial importance to companies such as Google and Microsoft that want to use those channels to develop new mobile communication devices. Microsoft, Motorola and Philips Electronics have submitted prototype devices to the FCC for testing. Companies seeking access to the unused airwaves, also known as ‘white spaces,’ want that spectrum to remain unlicensed as long as their devices meet non-interference standards.