In a blog post on Friday, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler said that he would postpone a June 2014 spectrum auction to mid-2015. In his post, Wheeler called for more extensive testing of “the operating systems and the software necessary to conduct the world’s first-of-a kind incentive auction.”

”Only when our software and systems are technically ready, user friendly, and thoroughly tested, will we start the auction,” wrote Wheeler. The chairman also said that he wanted to develop procedures for how the auction will be conducted, specifically after seeking public comment on those details in the second half of next year.

A separate auction for 10MHz of space will take place in January 2014. In 2012, Congress passed the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act, which required the FCC to auction off 65MHz of spectrum by 2015. Revenue from the auction will go toward developing FirstNet, an LTE network for first responders. Two months ago, acting FCC chair Mignon Clyburn announced that the commission would start that sell-off by placing 10MHz on the auction block in January 2014. The other 55MHz would be auctioned off at a later date, before the end of 2015.

The forthcoming auction aims to pay TV broadcasters to give up lower frequencies, which will be bid on by wireless cell phone carriers like AT&T and Verizon, but also by smaller carriers who are eager to expand their spectrum property. Wheeler gave no hint as to whether he would push for restrictions on big carriers during the auction process, but he wrote, “I am mindful of the important national interest in making available additional spectrum for flexible use.”

Editor's note: This story was updated to reflect that the auction being postponed is a separate, larger auction from the one that is scheduled to go forward in January 2014.