Re. &quot;95% open spectrum&quot; - Now we&#x27;re really getting into the interesting tangents!<p>I&#x27;m still on the fence about de-privatizing spectrum for a variety of reasons. But the biggest elephant in the room whenever discussing spectrum de-privatization is that the FCC earned US$45 billion from wireless carriers last year, and US$19 billion in 2008&#x27;s auction (<a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.cnet.com&#x2F;news&#x2F;fcc-rakes-in-45-billion-from-wireless-spectrum-auction&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.cnet.com&#x2F;news&#x2F;fcc-rakes-in-45-billion-from-wirele...</a>). In the grand scheme of the entire US federal budget, I think that&#x27;s just a drop in the bucket. But it&#x27;s still money that the federal government looks forward to.<p>So on the one hand, the FCC wants to play fair for consumers and tax-payers. On the other hand, the FCC can&#x27;t really restructure an existing industry without biting the hand that literally feeds their existence to the tune of US$2-3 billion per year if you imagine their auction revenue as ratable over the years an auction doesn&#x27;t take place.