WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission last week announced 54 bidders are qualified for the auction of licenses in the 220 MHz (220-222 MHz) band set to begin tomorrow. The 220 MHz service auction is considered Phase II of the FCC’s licensing plan for this band. Licensees in Phase I were authorized by lotteries in 1992 and 1993.
While familiar names like Nextel and Metricom appeared on the FCC’s list of accepted applications last month, Metricom apparently did not make the necessary upfront payment and is now listed as non-qualified.
Nextel did make an upfront payment of $5.25 million, making it eligible for 5 million credits. The minimum allowable bid in the 220 MHz auction is $2,500, which makes Nextel capable of capturing all of the licenses. By contrast, one company, Active Communications Inc. apparently only is interested in one license because it only put up $2,500. Initially, Active Communications indicated on its application it was interested in all of the licenses.
