\tThe first phase of bidding in the Federal Communications Commission\u2019s (FCC) third mmWave spectrum sale raised nearly $7.6 billion, with the vast majority of bids covering licences in the two lower frequency bands on offer.<\/p>\n
FCC representative Will Wiquist said in a statement bidders won 14,142 of 14,144 licences up for grabs in the 37GHz, 39GHz and 47GHz bands.<\/p>\n
The auction will now move on to an assignment phase, during which participants will be able to bid on their desired frequencies in the markets where they won licences. A start date for this stage will be announced in the coming days.<\/p>\n
Analyst company LightShed Partners noted the initial bidding total included $7.2 billion for licences in the 37GHz and 39GHz bands, and $344 million on 47GHz. It added the assignment phase typically does not significantly increase auction proceeds.<\/p>\n
Stephen Wilkus, principal at Spectrum Financial Consulting, told Mobile World Live the commitments made so far mean it cost a bidder nearly $301 million to buy a 100MHz block of nationwide spectrum in the 37GHz and 39GHz bands, but just $34.3 million to do the same in the 47GHz band.<\/p>\n
All four major US operators were among those registered to take part in the auction. Winning bidders will be revealed once the assignment phase is complete.<\/p>\n
Two prior auctions [1] generated bids of $2 billion for 24GHz spectrum, and $700 million for 28GHz.<\/p>\n[1] https:\/\/www.mobileworldlive.com\/featured-content\/top-three\/us-majors-splash-cash-for-5g-frequencies\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The first phase of bidding in the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) third mmWave spectrum sale …<\/p>\n
The post Bids in latest US mmWave auction top $7B<\/a> appeared first on Mobile World Live<\/a>.<\/p>\n