According to a Department of commerce Inspector General's report, the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet), set up under Commerce's National Telecommunications & Information Administration, has been insufficiently monitored by commerce on financial and disclosure matters.

That comes as the FCC's AWS-3 auction is winding down, which will supply over $7 billion to fund and operate the network.

For starters, the report found that Commerce did not have the requisite information on FirstNet financial disclosure files or information on FirstNet board members. Those members did not file timely disclosure reports.

"One Board member initially did not file a required public disclosure—and, when eventually doing so, did not disclose an interest in a conflicting company," the IG said. "Another Board member submitted the required public disclosure form 5 months late. Two others submitted inaccurate time-and attendance records, in one case to avoid filing the required public financial disclosure. Finally, all four of these Board members continued to engage in decision making, even though they were not in compliance with the financial disclosure requirements."

The IG said the board's procedures for monitoring conflict of interest definitely need improving.

Then there is the contracting issue. The IG found insufficient transparency in the awarding of contracts or oversight in hiring. There was also not a procedure to prevent paying erroneous costs. The report said concerns remain about lack of competition in contracts and conflicts of interest.

The IG investigation was conducted after a FirstNet board member complained about procurement related issues back in April 2013.

House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-Ore.) has long been concerned about how FirstNet was operating and said his subcommittee would hold hearings in the new Congress on the issue.

"Unfortunately, the Inspector General’s report confirms what we have suspected and long feared - that FirstNet had been operating without proper processes and with disregard for laws that guard against impropriety," Walden said in a statement.

"Questions of ethics threaten the legitimacy of FirstNet’s efforts and ultimately undermine its important mission to build a nationwide public safety broadband network. We will continue our thoughtful oversight and hold additional hearings early next year and expect to see significant progress in implementing the Inspector General’s recommendations.”

After 16 rounds, the FCC's AWS-3 auction appears to be a runaway success.

Having already met its $10.07 billion reserve price for the vast majority of licenses up for auction  three rounds ago, the auction hit new heights Wednesday with $18,567,380,500 bid so far and a whopping $2,137,174,300 bid in the latest round alone on 949 new bids.

It took only three days--the auction launched Nov. 13--to exceed the key reserve figure (there is a separate, $580 million, reserve on an unpaired block of 15 MHz of spectrum, but whether or not it is met that will not hold up the auction). It is unclear whether it had been met at press time, though after round 15 only some 30% of the licenses in that block had been bid on.

More than half of that $2 billion in new bids came in New York alone.

One broadcaster called the strong bidding great news--it relieves pressure on the upcoming broadcast incentive auction to raise money for FirstNet, the interoperable broadband first responder network, and other purposes.

Read more at B&Chere.

Round six of the FCC's AWS-3 auction saw a flurry of activity, with 841 new bids tallying an additional $566,767,300.

So far, the bids are at $3,918,996,000 for 1,269 of 1,614 licenses up for bid.

The bidding could go on for days, weeks or even months. Bidding continues until nobody bids in a round or exercises a waiver, which means it is passing but wants the chance to bid again.

In the AWS-3 auction, 65 MHz of spectrum is up for bid, part of a congressional—and White House—mandate to free up wireless spectrum for mobile broadband.

Read more at B&C here.