Initial Re-auction Action Deemed Modest
UPDATE The FCC re-auction of Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) licenses began Tuesday as scheduled. Up for bid are 200 licenses in the AWS-3 bands (1695–1710 MHz, 1755–1780 MHz, and 2155–2180 MHz). Forty-eight are Economic Area licenses and 152 are Cellular Market Area licenses. Proceeds will support the Rip & Replace reimbursement program.
The 1755-1780 MHz band will be licensed paired with the 2155-2180 MHz band, with the 1755-1780 MHz band authorized for low-power mobile transmit (uplink) operations and the 2155-2180 MHz band authorized for base station and fixed (downlink) operations.
Gross proceeds as of round 2 on Tuesday were a little over $54 million, called modest by analysts. Just over 100 licenses saw a demand of more than one bidder and 60 licenses saw a demand of one bidder. Thirty-nine licenses had zero demand.
Gross proceeds as of round 3 on Wednesday were $59.3 million. Ninety-nine licenses had more than one bidder, 62 had one bidder and 39 licenses still had no demand. The highest price was $16.9 million for a license in New York’s Long Island that had four bidders, according to the FCC. A Gary, IN license came in second at $6.5 million with three bidders. Licenses in Madison, WI and Honolulu, HI saw the most bids, with five bidders apiece.
By the end of round 4 on Wednesday, gross proceeds were a tad over $65 million. Ninety-nine licenses remained with one bidder and 62 still had one bidder. Thirty nine still had zero interest. The bids for the Long Island license rose to $18.6 million and remained the highest price. The Gary, IN license remained in second with a price of $7.2 million and three bidders.
The AWS-3 auction offers 5G-grade spectrum licenses that laid fallow for more than a decade. The event makes over 1.4 billion MHz-POPs available for auction – a metric calculated by multiplying the bandwidth by the population covered by the licenses.
The license areas included in this auction are home to over 100 million consumers across 48 states, according to the agency. They include major markets like New York, Chicago, Boston, Tampa, and Charlotte.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr welcomed the start of the auction. “Finally! The FCC is back in the game. Spectrum auctions are the lifeblood of licensed wireless service, and it has been far too long since the FCC has run an auction,” Carr said. He added that more spectrum means more building, lower prices, and stronger competition.
CTIA President/CEO and former FCC Chairman Ajit Pai was also enthused, saying this was the agency’s first spectrum auction “in nearly four years, underscoring the importance of sustained effort to deliver on the 800 MHz pipeline set out by Congress and the President. We look forward to working closely with the FCC, NTIA, and all stakeholders to build on this momentum and deliver the spectrum needed to secure America’s wireless and AI leadership.”
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
