700 MHz: A Block bidding drawing to a close

The Federal Communications Commission’s 700 MHz spectrum auction saw a flurry of activity – well, OK, a barely discernable increase – as it inched toward the $20 billion mark.
Today’s first three rounds saw a total of 77 bids, with B-Block licenses getting most of the action, as the event’s total provisional winning bids reached $19.543 billion. An E-Block license covering Las Vegas drew the largest single bid at $164,000 to reach a total of $8.3 million.
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B-Block activity once again centered primarily in the eastern U.S., while bids in the E Block consisted mostly of large chunks of real estate in less populated areas in the Midwest and West. Interest is particularly waning in the A Block, which has drawn only four bids in each of the past four rounds.
The C and D Blocks remained idle, failing to draw a bid for nearly three dozen rounds. The FCC will reveal the winning bidders following the auction’s close.