AUCTION NEWS: Jousting continues as bidding winds down

WASHINGTON—Dobson Communications Corp., T-Mobile USA Inc. and Leap Wireless International Inc. are among the bidders still jockeying for spectrum in the advanced wireless services auction. The auction continues to creep toward a close, with just 64 bids in recent rounds.

Among the licenses still in play:

• NextWave Telecom Inc. is jousting with Leap for spectrum covering Biloxi, Miss. and parts of Virginia. In round 77, NextWave held the high bid on the Biloxi spectrum at $281,000. Leap, meanwhile, outbid NextWave in round 77 for the 20-megahertz Petersburg-Hopewell, Va. license at $252,000. A license for State College, Pa. is bouncing between NextWave and T-Mobile USA, with NextWave posting a new high bid of $366,000 in round 77 for the 20 megahertz A-block license. Meanwhile, the State College B-block license, which includes 20 megahertz of spectrum over a larger geographic area, is the subject of a bidding contest between Dobson and the Sprint Nextel Corp.-cable joint venture. The JV outbid Dobson in round 77 with $5 million for the license.

• Designated entity Red Rock Spectrum Holdings L.L.C. outbid NextWave on four spectrum licenses in Kansas in round 77.

• Leap outbid T-Mobile USA to regain control of the Trenton, N.J. A-block license, while Dobson overcame a Leap bid to become the high bidder on spectrum in Lexington, Ky.

Of the 64 new bids placed in round 77, eight came from Dobson, 14 came from NextWave, and another 14 came from Red Rock. Leap chipped in half a dozen, and the Sprint Nextel-cable JV placed four.

As of round 77, the Federal Communications Commission has tallied a total of $13.8 billion in bids; 110 bidders remain active in the auction.