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On Wednesday, the Federal Communications Commission announced the winners of an $ 81 billion auction for the license to use large ideal waves for 5G.
The big winners were Verizon and AT&T. They need those waves to build 5G networks, which are significantly faster than current wireless services.
Verizon, through its subsidiary Cellco Partnership, has offered nearly $ 45.5 billion on the air. AT&T, via AT&T Spectrum Frontiers, offered $ 23.4 billion. The third largest US operator, T-Mobile, offered the third largest amount of money, $ 9.3 billion.
The amounts spent by the companies ended up well above expectations for last summer’s auction, reflecting the importance for carriers of obtaining airwaves licenses.
“These record results highlight the demand and critical need for more licensed mid-band spectrum and demonstrate the importance of developing a robust spectrum auction pipeline,” said Meredith Baker, CEO of CTIA, in a communicated. CTIA is a trade group representing the wireless industry. Bidders are always in a quiet period, where they are not allowed to comment publicly.
The 280 megahertz of spectrum up for grabs in this auction is a medium band spectrum, sometimes referred to as the “golden loop band,” which means it is well suited for 5G networks, combining the ability to transmit d ‘huge amounts of data with a wavelength that can travel a long time. the distances.
The results are in line with previous industry expectations. Verizon and AT&T were expected to be the biggest bidders because they didn’t have a lot of mid-band spectrum. T-Mobile had already acquired a medium band through its merger with Sprint.
Not all of the spectrum was sold at the same time. The 280 MHz spectrum has been divided into smaller 20 MHz blocks and divided into 406 geographic regions. A total of 5,684 licenses were up for grabs.
In total, the three largest US carriers won 90% of the licenses auctioned.
Here are the top five bidders, according to the FCC:
- Cellco partnership: $ 45,454,843,197
- AT&T Spectrum Frontiers LLC: $ 23,406,860,839
- T-Mobile LLC License: $ 9,336,125,147
- United States Cellular Corporation : $ 1,282,641,542
- New level II, LP: $ 1,277,395,688
The top five bidders in number of licenses granted were:
- Cellco partnership: 3 511
- AT&T Spectrum Frontiers LLC: 1,621
- United States Cellular Corp.: 254
- T-Mobile LLC License: 142
- Canopy Spectrum, LLC: 84
US Cellular is the fourth American operator. NewLevel II represents private equity firm Grain Management, while Canopy Spectrum is a venture between former Wells Fargo analyst Jennifer Fritzsche and investor Edward Moise Jr., according to LightReading.
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