NEWS
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See MCI v. FCC. 515 F 2d 385 (D.C. Circ 1974).
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NEWS MEDIA CONTACT
March 20, 2008 Katie Yocum (202) 418-2300
COMMISSIONER JONATHAN S. ADELSTEIN COMMENTS 
ON LACK OF DIVERSITY AMONG WINNERS OF THE 700 MHZ AUCTION
Washington, D.C. - Preliminary FCC data regarding winning bidders in the 700 MHz auction indicated 
that, based on self-reporting, women-owned bidders failed to win any licenses and minority-owned 
bidders won less than one percent of licenses (7 of 1,090 licenses, or .64%), despite the fact that 
women constitute over half the U.S. population and minorities around one-third of the U.S. 
population.
In response, Commissioner Adelstein stated:
“It’s appalling that women and minorities were virtually shut out of this monumental 
auction.    It’s an outrage that we’ve failed to counter the legacy of discrimination that has 
kept women and minorities from owning their fair share of the spectrum.  Here we had an 
enormous opportunity to open the airwaves to a new generation that reflects the diversity 
of America, and instead we just made a bad situation even worse.  This gives whole new 
meaning to “white spaces” in the spectrum.”