FCC delays 60-69 scramble.(Brief Article)

Auction rescheduled for Sept. 6; participants jockey for position

Regulators last week gave themselves an extra three months to figure out how to persuade TV stations to relinquish ahead of schedule a valuable swath of spectrum that the government plans to auction to telecommunications companies.

But by postponing until Sept. 6 the bidding for spectrum now used for TV channels 60-69, the FCC will be deluged over the summer by broadcasters and wireless companies angling for new auction rules that give them better deals.

Some TV owners hope the government's eagerness to get them off the band quickly can be parlayed into revived chances for powerful cable-carriage rules guaranteeing that a station's multiple digital signals will be offered by local cable franchises. …