Yesterday the FCC announced the results of the recent Spectrum Auction. The quick facts:
There were 214 qualified bidders
101 bidders won 1090 licenses
One auction didn’t get the necessary bid, which I thought meant they wouldn’t share info on the other auctions but apparently that isn’t the case.
Verizon/Vodafone was the big winner. They got 6 of the biggest licenses and many of the smaller licenses. They spent $9.63 billion.
AT&T didn’t win any of the big licenses but they did win a lot (227) of the medium licenses. They spent $6.64 billion.
Google won nothing. Although many people point out that they won the moment the FCC added the open access conditions into the bidding requirements. The comments on the Google policy blog might second that:
While the Commission’s anti-collusion rules prevent us from saying much at this point, one thing is clear: although Google didn’t pick up any spectrum licenses, the auction produced a major victory for American consumers.
DSL Reports has a nice story on the Auction (Verizon Nabs Most Valuable 700Mhz Spectrum) but the most interesting reading there is comments from readers. One feels let down by Google. One suggests that the winners this time around should not be allowed to bid next time. (I didn’t know a next time was in the works.)
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