OVERNIGHT TECH: Airwave auction starts Thursday

THE LEDE: The Federal Communications Commission is slated to begin its largest spectrum auction since 2008 on Thursday. 

The government will auction off airwave frequencies owned by a number of federal agencies, which can be used to free up mobile service for smartphones and other wireless devices. The airwaves are currently held by federal agencies like the Department of Defense, the Department of Interior and others. 

{mosads}CTIA, a trade group for the wireless industry, said the auction is important because “Americans’ demand for mobile Internet access anytime, anywhere will only continue to grow.” With only a finite amount of spectrum, the group noted that there were 175 million smartphones in the United States at the end of 2013. 

“And when you add the Internet of Things which is expected to fuel everything from transportation to utilities and healthcare, the demand will only continue to grow. This spectrum will help to meet this demand,” said Scott Bergman, vice president of the group, in a blog post. 

The group said the airwaves could be used for additional 4G/LTE subscribers and for devices that can work in multiple countries, since some of the spectrum is “internationally harmonized.” 

Seventy companies will participate in the auction, including T-Mobile, AT&T and others. The last major auction brought in nearly $20 billion in 2008 and another raised $14 billion in 2006.

Thursday’s auction is separate from the incentive auction that was scheduled for next year but was pushed back to 2016 partly due to litigation from broadcasters. In that case, broadcasters will sell off spectrum licenses to the FCC, which will then auction it off to wireless providers. 

FCC official explains timing: A top official with the Federal Communications Commission provided more light Wednesday on why the agency is pushing back a vote on final rules governing net neutrality. Gigi Sohn, a special counsel in FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s office, said it would likely come in early 2015: “We work in a bureaucracy, you know,” she said on NPR’s “Diane Rehm Show.” “We need to get the record right. What we don’t want to happen is we don’t want to go back to court again and have the court tell us your record is not full enough, it is not sustainable enough for us to uphold.”

Perry on net neutrality: Texas Gov. Rick Perry said President Obama’s proposal on net neutrality was drawing on regulations from the Great Depression era: “Texas’ strong economy owes a lot to regulatory certainty and major private investments in critical technology infrastructure,” he said in a statement. “President Obama’s call to saddle 21st century technology with outdated, unnecessary regulations from the era of the Great Depression is alarming and will stifle innovation and growth. Instead, we should embrace a business and regulatory climate that encourages competition and empowers consumers with greater choice and access to high-speed Internet and all the business, consumer, education and health care benefits that come with it.”

Liberties groups push to block sex trafficking bill: The American Civil Liberties Union, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Center for Democracy and Technology, and other civil liberties groups are putting pressure on the Senate to oppose a sex trafficking bill that they fear could lead to a clampdown on Internet speech. The Stop Advertising Victims of Exploitation (SAVE) Act would make it a crime to advertise child prostitution or sex trafficking, which supporters say is an attempt to target seedy websites such as Backpage.com that peddle sex crimes. It easily passed the House in May.

The free-speech advocates, however, fear that the legislation is “overbroad, counterproductive, and would place unconstitutional burdens on the free speech and privacy rights of millions of Americans who have nothing to do with trafficking.” On Wednesday, they sent senators a letter warning about the possible restrictions under the bill. 

Chicago Tribune comes out against Title II: The Chicago Tribune’s editorial board wrote an editorial criticizing Obama’s call for the FCC to treat broadband as a utility by reclassifying Internet service as a “common carrier.” President Obama’s hometown newspaper said that the move “would put a huge damper on investment and innovation.” 

FCC looking into veteran’s petition: An FCC official said that the commission would look to help a veteran who this week had gathered thousands of signatures asking for a three-digit number for the national suicide help line. The Vietnam veteran, retired Army Capt. Dan Davis, asked the commission to set aside “111,” “811” or another string of numbers to help people easily contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. 

ON TAP: 

At 10 a.m., FCC begins its Advanced Wireless Services licenses (AWS-3) auction. 

At 2:30, the Senate Judiciary Committee will consider the FOIA Improvement Act and a number of nominations. 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has placed Sen. Patrick Leahy’s (D-Vt.) surveillance reform bill on the Senate’s docket.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee will examine federal regulators’ attempt to write new net neutrality rules next month, it announced on Wednesday.

A top Federal Communications Commission official on Wednesday said the independent agency has not made a decision on whether to follow President Obama’s recommendations on net neutrality. 

A handful of potential 2016 candidates are rushing to define their position on net neutrality following President Obama’s call for the Federal Communications Commission to impose tougher regulations. 

EBay is reaching out to its army of users to stir up opposition to congressional efforts to pass an online sales tax bill during the congressional lame-duck session.

Please send tips and comments to Julian Hattem, jhattem@digital-stage.thehill.com and Mario Trujillo, mtrujillo@digital-stage.thehill.com.

Follow us on Twitter: @HilliconValley, @jmhattem