NEW YORK: The results of FCC’s AWS-3 spectrum auction were shared today, giving us a peek at which companies bid and how much they’ll need to pony up.
According to the FCC’s documents, AT&T bid a total of $18.2 billion in the AWS-3 auction, which is by far more than any other bidder. Some other notable bidders include Dish Networks, which bid $13 billion between a couple of different companies; Verizon, which bid $10.4 billion; and T-Mobile, which ended up bidding $1.8 billion. The grand total of bids for the entire auction is $41.3 billion.
This AWS-3 spectrum auction included 1600 licenses covering the G Block (1755-1760/2155-2160MHz), H Block (1760-1765/2160-2165MHz), I Block (1765-1770/2165-2170MHZ), and J Block (1770-1780/2170-2180MHz), the last of which was the most highly-coveted in the bidding battle.
Each of the three major carriers that participated in the auction won a variety of licenses, with notable winnings including AT&T’s $2.76 billion bid for some J Block spectrum in NYC, while Verizon won some J Block spectrum of its own that covers Washington D.C. and Baltimore for $966 million. Meanwhile, T-Mobile was able to snag itself some of that J Block spectrum in Augusta, Ga. and Aiken, S.C.
This spectrum auction saw lots of companies shelling out even more cash for AWS-3 licenses. That news shouldn’t come as a surprise, though, because more and more people are going mobile and relying on their smartphones, tablets, and other devices to keep them connected. This means that carriers need to buy up more spectrum to beef up their network and support all those devices.
If you want a look at the auction results, you can hit up the FCC link below, which includes a 95-page document that lists all of the licenses that were up for auction and who won them.
