Bids in the 700 MHz auction stood at $6.4 billion late Monday aft...
Bids in the 700 MHz auction stood at $6.4 billion late Monday after eight bidding rounds. A final round for the day was underway at our deadline. The bad news for the FCC is that there were no new…
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bids for the nationwide 10 MHz D-block public safety spectrum since the first round of bidding Thursday. The good news is that bids are running ahead of the pace set by 2006’s advanced wireless service auction, which had only $2.4 billion in provisional winning bids after eight rounds, on the way to $13.8 billion total. Stifel Nicolaus said Monday it holds little hope that any bidder will meet the $1.3 billion reserve price set for the D-block. The FCC would then have to reauction the spectrum, with or without requirements that the spectrum to be used to build a nationwide public safety network. “Although it is still technically possible for someone to bid on the D Block, we believe that if there are no further bids today, it will suggest there probably will not be any parties -- apart from the bidders on the nationwide C Block license -- with enough eligibility to buy the D license at the reserve price, making it increasingly unlikely to be sold in this auction,” Stifel Nicolaus said. Bidding resumed Monday after being halted Friday afternoon without explanation. As a result of the cancelled round Friday, the FCC held four rounds of bidding instead of the expected three on Monday.