U.S. AWS-3 auction raises more than $41B US

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission’s AWS-3 auction ended Thursday, and the regulator announced Friday that it had accepted $41.3 billion US in net bids from 31 bidders for 1,611 spectrum licences. The FCC had previously said the auction had seen $44.9 billion US in gross bidding, and in Friday’s release the regulator said the difference was due to auction rules surrounding withdrawn bids and interim payments. The auction parcelled out 65 MHz of spectrum in different slices in hundreds of regions across the country and was the highest-earning spectrum sale the FCC has ever held, Chairman Tom Wheeler said in a Thursday statement. “The results of this auction confirm the strong market demand for more spectrum,” he said in a statement posted to the FCC’s website. “Now, an additional 65 megahertz of spectrum is available to improve wireless connectivity … and accelerate the mobile revolution that is driving economic growth and improving the lives of the American people.” AT&T said in a Friday press release it bid $19.2 billion US in the auction and now has AWS-3 spectrum to cover 96 per cent of the American population. “Growth in our customers’ mobile data usage continues to explode, driven by mobile video traffic,” said John Stankey, chief strategy officer at AT&T, in the release. “This spectrum investment will be critical to AT&T staying ahead of customer demand and facilitate the next generation of mobile video entertainment.” Verizon Communications Inc. said it spent $10.4 billion US to buy 181 licences in the auction that cover 61 per cent of the American population. Applications for Canada’s AWS-3 auction, set to begin March 3, are due Friday. Research firm Lemay-Yates Associates said in a note on its website that the Canadian government is “playing to a different drum” in its auction, because it has set aside 60 per cent of the spectrum for "operating new entrants." The move was “a major effort to solidify future prospects for new entrant mobile carriers” that likely deprived the government of “a significant injection of funds,” Lemay-Yates said.

U.S. AWS-3 auction raises more than $41B US

Brief | January 30, 2015

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U.S. AWS-3 auction raises more than $41B US

Brief | January 30, 2015

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