Pushing the clocks ahead by an hour appeared to have little impact on the Federal Communications Commission’s 700 MHz auction, which picked up this morning where it left off on Friday: new bids in the single digits and very little new money being deposited into the government’s coffers.
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The past 10 rounds of bidding witnessed a high of 9 new bids during rounds 182 and 183, before falling to between 6 and 7 new bids for rounds 184 through 189. Recent bidding has focused almost exclusively on B-Block licenses, which garnered all the new bids in rounds 185, 186, 187 and 188. The B-Block licenses with new bids include Hunterdon, N.J.; Burlington, N.C.; Johnson, Tenn.; and Yuba City and Imperial, Calif.
The A Block picked up one new bid in round 189 for the license covering American Samoa, and prior to that had not seen a new bid since round 184. The E Block picked up its last bid in round 184 for the license covering Minot, N.D.
Bid amounts have dwindled too; total potential winning bids through the past 10 rounds added just over $1 million to the auction’s total haul. The FCC’s Auction 73 stood at $19.588 billion at the end of round 189.
The FCC is still conducting 10 rounds of bidding per day, though it’s possible that number could move to 14 rounds per day beginning tomorrow, if the auction last that long. The auction is scheduled to conclude when there are no new bids placed during a round. The FCC is expected to release the names of license winners 10 days following the close of the auction.
Only a few days left: Auction 73 drawing to a close: Bidders remain focuses on handful of small 700 MHz licenses
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