Big 3 Are Big Winners in Auction 113
UPDATE Verizon spent the most money on the FCC reauction of AWS-3 spectrum licenses. That’s according to the agency’s results, naming the bidders. T-Mobile US and AT&T also picked up ample allocations. In contrast, EchoStar and SpaceX each won just a few licenses.
Though 17 bidders qualified, just seven actually won licenses in Auction 113. The agency’s first auction in nearly four years consisted of 200 licenses in the 1695-1710 MHz, 1755-1780 MHz and 2155-2180 MHz bands.
Verizon bid through its subsidiary Cellco Partnership and secured 82 licenses for a total of $3.16 billion. This was the largest expenditure of the auction, according to the Commission.
Verizon won the highest-value licenses in major markets such as New York, Chicago and Boston. They “add a meaningful amount of capacity,” MoffettNathanson said in a client report.
T-Mobile won 102 licenses for a total of $277.8 million, giving it the largest license count. AT&T picked up 10 licenses for a total of $120.8 million.
EchoStar, bidding as Conundrum Wireless, obtained two licenses for $1.2 million. SpaceX, through its Space Exploration Holdings entity, also won two licenses, paying $8.5 million. Satellite Analyst and TMF Associates President Tim Farrar said on X he believes SpaceX will use its AWS-3 licenses to fill the gap in its Band 70 spectrum once SpaceX’s acquisition of EchoStar spectrum closes. SpaceX intends to use the EchoStar spectrum to support a D2D offering, according to Farrar.
The other two winners were Blue Ridge Wireless and Citizens Band License Company. They each won one license in one market and used a small bidding credit of 25 percent. Blue Ridge’s net bid was $1.5 million and Citizens’ was $56,250.
The numbers cap a 72-round auction that closed on June 23. Gross proceeds exceeded $3.5 billion in the reauction of 200 licenses in the 1695-1710MHz, 1755-1780MHz and 2155-2180MHz bands, Inside Towers reported.
Up to $3.3 billion of the proceeds will be used to repay money borrowed for the FCC Rip & Replace program to reimburse small, rural carriers for removing Huawei and ZTE equipment from their networks. Exceeding the gross proceeds of $3.5 billion clears the $2.9 billion threshold required for EchoStar to avoid paying a potential shortfall payment to the FCC under a prior settlement agreement, Inside Towers reported.
Down payments are due by 6 p.m. Eastern on July 13 and final payments are due by 6 p.m. Eastern on July 27 to avoid a late fee or default. Payments must be made in U.S. dollars by wire transfer to the FCC’s account at the U.S. Treasury. No payments by checks, credit cards, automated clearing house or other forms will be accepted.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
