11.   McCain is hopeful that the president will bite the bullet and include a broadcast spectrum auction in his budget proposal next month.

12.   Robert Wilson, the Stanford University professor who introduced Maskin, is a principal in a firm that has made a fortune serving as consultant on spectrum auctions.

13.   Satellite and cable companies, and some FCC officials, say that because Northpoint is a terrestrial service, the satellite law prohibiting spectrum auctions does not apply.

14.   Tauzin, however, warned that broadcasters who chose not to offer HDTV might face steep fees, onerous new public service obligations or even spectrum auctions.

15.   Subcommittee members criticized the budget agreement for dictating spectrum auctions just to raise revenue without first taking into consideration the telecommunications policy ramifications.

16.   That was when the Clinton administration discovered spectrum auctions.

17.   Tauzin may introduce his own legislation to prevent satellite spectrum auctions, his spokesman Ken Johnson said.

18.   The House dropped a provision that would have allowed the FCC to cancel various spectrum auctions if they failed to bring in enough money.

19.   The Justice Department is investigating allegations that bidders for cellular telephone licenses may have illegally manipulated recent wireless spectrum auctions, officials said Wednesday.

20.   The letter represents a victory for the National Association of Broadcasters, which had mounted a broad lobbying campaign to avert spectrum auctions.