Art,
You correctly identify the problem, IMO. The sale of the spectrum was an error.
You then go on to insult investment bankers. Was that reflexive, or is there more to the story? I’m in no habit of defending said group because as a group they’ve gone overboard, but in this case you admit they were ripped off.
I blame government. If you can’t set up a system for selling off the spectrum, and then deal with the mistakes you make within a DECADE, all the while playing CYA at the victim’s expense, you ought not be in the business of governing (and those bureaucrats are in business the second they realized they had a “career” rather than just a job).