700 MHz auction continues lazy ride

Action slowed further as the Federal Communications Commission’s 700 MHz spectrum auction staggered toward the $20 billion mark.
Round 114 drew only 26 new bids across the A, B and E Blocks, with B-Block licenses alone accounting for 14 bids. The action upped the total provisional winning bids to $19.534 billion, up only $7 million from the same point in Monday’s bidding.
The E-Block license covering Orlando, Fla., and surrounding areas once again received the largest new bid to reach the $29.1 million mark. A-Block activity centered on licenses in North Dakota and South Dakota, while the action in the B Blocks was scattered across the Eastern U.S.
The C and D Blocks, which have failed to draw bids for more than two dozen rounds, remained idle. The FCC will reveal the identities of winning bidders following the auction’s close.