The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) revealed the winning bidders in the country’s second auction of high-band 5G-suitable frequencies, with major operators AT&T, T-Mobile US and Verizon emerging as the biggest spenders.
Its auction, which the FCC last week said raised $2 billion [1], covered the sale of licences in the 24GHz and the 28GHz bands.
AT&T spent the biggest in 24GHz, bidding a total of $983 million for 831 licences, followed by T-Mobile’s $803 million for 1,346 licences.
Verizon topped the table in the 28GHz race, bidding $505 million for 1,066 licences, while US Cellular secured $129 million worth of spectrum in 28GHz and $127 million in 24GHz.
In all, 55 parties were qualified to bid for a total of 5,869 licences on offer, which included participation from regional players and cable companies.
The sum raised in this auction adds to around $700 million raised in the FCC’s previous 5G auction, held in January 2019. [2]
VentureBeat noted Verizon and AT&T used the latest sale to expand their mmWave specrum holdings, enabling them to extend early 5G tests and services.
Meanwhile, T-Mobile would now be able to add mmWave coverage through 24GHz licences secured, adding to its investment in low- and mid-band 5G spectrum.
[1] https://www.mobileworldlive.com/featured-content/top-three/latest-us-5g-auction-raises-more-than-2b/[2] https://www.mobileworldlive.com/featured-content/top-three/us-completes-first-5g-auction/
