In the last year, many advocates have called for the imposition of Carterfone regulation on the wireless industry. The FCC partially heeded this call when it imposed open platform regulations on one substantial block of spectrum (the Upper C block) that was recently part of the record-setting...

Using econometric methods and data from prior spectrum auctions, this paper evaluates the design of the FCC's Auction 97. We find that the elements of the auction's design, including the size of license areas, reduced auction revenues by as much as $21 billion