FCC Auction 108 raises only $428 million for 2.5GHz mid-band spectrum licenses
When Verizon and AT&T decided to work on their 5G mmWave service first, it was a major strategic blunder on their part because those signals only travel short distances which means that finding a 5G mmWave connection is like finding a needle in a haystack. Additionally, mmWave signals are easily blocked by trees, structures, and other things in the way of the signal’s path.
T-Mobile is arguably the 5G leader in the U.S.
Sasha Javid, COO of BitPath and a former chief data officer with the FCC said, “It is also likely true that no nationwide bidders other than T-Mobile were participating in any meaningful way in this auction.” T-Mobile did have a bidding advantage since the FCC did not require the company to reveal its existing lease deals on its 2.5GHz holdings. That info was an important piece of information to know and only the wireless firm had that data.
7,872 mid-band licenses were sold in the auction with 145 licenses unsold
T-Mobile is expected to win most of the licenses up for bids as the wireless provider, arguably the top 5G carrier in the states, seeks to close gaps in its mid-band spectrum. The FCC said that it will announce the results of Auction 108 soon. 82 companies took part in the auction including Verizon (under the name Cellco Partnership) and AT&T, both of which we assume were not as aggressive as they were in the C-band auction.
With the auction over, 7,872 licenses were sold leaving 145 licenses unsold. While it might not be unusual to have some frequencies go unsold, some of the licenses that did not receive a winning bid covered large areas such as Cook County, Illinois, which covers Chicago, and Harris County, Texas, which includes Houston.
