700 MHz auction slows to around 40 new bids per round

A small collection of E-Block licenses continued to generate interest among the few remaining active bidders in the Federal Communications Commission’s 700 MHz spectrum auction. Over the past several days, it appears that bidders have been bickering over the unpaired E-Block spectrum covering portions of North and South Dakota and surrounding areas.
The provisionally winning bid for the E-Block license covering Bismarck, N.D., and surrounding areas was up to $292,000 at the end of round 102 today, and the E Block just to the south, covering Rapid City, S.D., was up to $344,000. The Rapid City license had an average price per megahertz/potential customer covered of $0.27, according to Optimal Markets Inc.
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The new E-Block bids helped push the auction’s total provisionally winning bids to $19.519 billion in an auction that is growing increasingly quiet. There were only 40 new bids placed during round 102 today, whereas yesterday there were around 50 new bids placed during each of the day’s rounds.
But today’s action wasn’t centered solely on the E Block. The B Block received 22 new bids during round 102, with interest scattered among licenses covering the East and Southeast. For example, the license covering Marion County, Georgia, has received continued interest during the past several days, and its provisionally winning bid during round 102 was at $197,000. The license had an average price per megahertz/potential customer covered of $0.13.
Action on the C and D Blocks is apparently over, with the C Block split into a handful of regional licenses; the Mississippi Valley C Block has generated the auction’s largest single provisionally winning bid of $1.6 billion. The D Block though remains well below its reserve price (it has only received one bid, during the first round), which means the FCC likely will have to re-auction the spectrum.
The FCC’s 700 MHz auction likely will continue into next week, and the agency will reveal the identities of winning bidders at some point after the close of the auction.