Maximum Impact for Minimum Subsidy: Reverse Auctions for Universal Access in Chile and India
Irene S. Wu, International Bureau, October 2010
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) today released the first two of its new FCC Staff Working Papers. This agency-wide research paper series replaces all of the earlier working paper series that had been issued by individual bureaus and offices. It is intended to encourage staff research that furthers the “expert” function of the agency and builds agency intellectual capital. This active research program is managed by the Office of Strategic Planning and Policy Analysis (OSP).
The second paper is “Maximum Impact for Minimum Subsidy: Reverse Auctions for Universal Access in Chile and India,” by Irene Wu, Acting Chief Data Officer for the International Bureau. Dr. Wu argues that government funding for universal service and broadband support programs could be quicker and more efficient if the FCC were to use reverse auctions (also called “minimum subsidy auctions”) to support those programs. Toward that end, she examines the implementation of such auctions in the last 15 years in Chile and India.
The full text of both working papers is available at http://www.fcc.gov/papers/. The OSP contact is Chuck Needy, who can be reached at chuck.needy@fcc.gov.
