THE FCC RECENTLY MADE AVAILABLE AT auction frequency — possibly worth billions — which could be used by U.S. carriers to offer such services as high-speed Internet access, video clips and other advanced capabilities.
Verizon Wireless, the No. 2 mobile provider, and T-Mobile USA were among the companies that participated in an auction for 242 PCS licenses to support advanced wireless services.
Licenses were offered in such big cities as Houston, St. Louis and Los Angeles, but the auction mostly includes the rights to spectrum in smaller markets, including Bend, Ore., Corbin, Ky., and Fargo, N.D., says Yankee Group analyst Roger Entner.
The aggregate amount of high bids was $1.39 billion after eight rounds of bidding over two days. Cingular Wireless, the biggest wireless carrier, was expected to be less ambitious than its rivals to acquire the rights to the airwaves because it obtained valuable spectrum through its acquisition of AT&T Wireless. However, after only four rounds, Cingular was among the highest bidders ($120 million) behind T-Mobile ($175 million) and MetroPCS ($156 million), according to Merrill Lynch. Sprint and Verizon Wireless also ranked among the highest bidders, said the analysts, who estimate the auction is valued at between $3 billion and $3.5 billion.
After two days of bidding, wireless operators had bid for most of the licenses; there were only 49 licenses in which there were no bids. The highest bid of $374 million was for 10MHz of spectrum in Los Angeles. The next highest bid of $86 million was for a license in Houston, followed by a slightly lower bid for another license in the same city. Another hot market was San Diego, where wireless providers made high bids of $40 million and $33 million for two licenses.
The commission put spectrum on the block previously owned by NextWave Telecom Inc. Last year NextWave reached an agreement to return PCS licenses to the FCC following years of disputes between the regulatory agency and the company.
| Links |
| AT&T Wireless www.attws.com Cingular Wireless www.cingularwireless.com NextWave Telecom Inc. www.nextwavetel.com The Yankee Group www.yankeegroup.com T-Mobile USA www.t-mobile.com Verizon Wireless www.verizonwireless.com |
