700 MHz bids per round dip into the single-digit range

Bidding remained subdued over the past 10 rounds of the Federal Communication Commission’s 700 MHz spectrum auction, with new bids per round hovering in the high single-digit and low teens. The lackluster action contributed around $3 million to the auction’s total potential winning bids, which stood at $19.585 billion after round 169.
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New bidding remained concentrated on the A-, B- and E-Block licenses, with no new bids placed in recent rounds on the C- or D-Block spectrum up for bid. A-Block bidding has centered on a trio of licenses covering Minot, N.D.; Albuquerque, N.M.; and Wilmington, N.C. In the B Block, attention has remained on licenses covering Joliet and Aurora, Ill.; Franklin, Ark.; and Burlington, N.C. E-Block activity remains on licenses covering Pendelton, Ore.; Aberdeen, S.D.; and Salisbury, Md.
Auction 73 (the FCC’s moniker for the current 700 MHz auction) did ring up an iron man award for lasting longer than 2006’s advanced wireless services auction — Auction 66 — which managed to conclude after 28 bidding days and 161 rounds. Auction 66 included more licenses up for grabs (1,122) than the current 700 MHz auction (1,099), but raised just short of $13.9 billion in total bids.
Auction 73 is scheduled to continue until there are no bids during a round. After the auction ends, the FCC will release the itendities of winning bidders.