FCC 700MHz Auction Closed
Posted on March 19, 2008 By: Mike, VoIP Facts: The Blog email author
Filed Under Industry News
The auction of the 700 MHz band ended yesterday after thirty eight days of bidding. A whopping $19,592 billion was raised for the federal treasury, despite fears that the auction would disappoint due to a staggering economy.
During the auction the bidder’s identities were kept secret to prevent collusion, and the FCC is expected to release the results within a few weeks once the auction is officially closed, and the D block is de-linked from auction 73. Speculation has it that Verizon will come out the winner for the commercial block C, although with eight regional licenses, others could share in the spectrum. Google was said to be in the bidding only to ensure that the C block reached the minimum reserve, triggering the open access rules.
One result that we know of already is that the D block public safety band failed to sell. It was bid on once in the first round for less than the reserve and received no more interest for the rest of the auction. The FCC has the option of reauctioning the D block with a lower minimum reserve, and a change in rules to rekindle interest in the band.
The D block requires a public sector, or a commercial entity to build out the nationwide network that could be used commercially in normal times, but would hand over the waves to public safety organizations in times of emergency.
The $19.6 billion raised by the FCC is said to be the largest amount raised for any FCC auction, and in fact exceeds the amount of all the past FCC auctions put together by a half billion dollars.
Related Articles:
FCC’s 700 MHz Spectrum Auction Ends with $19.6 Billion in Bids
FCC Ends 700 MHz Auction
FCC Nets $19.6 Billion On 700MHz Auction
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