FCC spectrum auction bids top $14B

[whitewolf8214]

FCC spectrum auction bids top $14B
Nov 18 2014, 16:09 ET | By: Eric Jhonsa, SA News Editor

Following 14 rounds, total bids in the FCC's AWS-3 (high-band) spectrum auction have reached $14.18B. Bids have been placed for 1,303 of the 1,614 available licenses, and a $10.1B aggregate reserve price has been surpassed.
AT&T (T -0.4%), Verizon (VZ -0.3%), T-Mobile (TMUS -0.3%), and Dish (DISH +4%) are among the companies bidding on the spectrum, which includes paired licenses (50GHz. altogether) in the 1.7GHz. and 2.1GHz. bands (good for high-density urban areas). T-Mobile raised debt ahead of the auction to help finance its efforts.
The furious bidding pace highlights the strong interest U.S. carriers have in growing their spectrum portfolios to cope with rapid mobile data traffic growth. An even bigger auction for 600MHz. (low-band) spectrum was recently delayed until 2016; AT&T and Verizon will face purchase restrictions in that one.
http://seekingalpha.com/news/2135105-fcc-spectrum-auction-bids-top-14b#email_link

 

[whitewolf8214]

Furious rally in Dish Network after strong FCC wireless auction
Nov 19 2014, 09:55 ET | By: Clark Schultz, SA News Editor [Contact this editor with comments or a news tip]

Shares of Dish Network (DISH +6.2%) pop on heavy volume as investment firms rework valuation on the company based on the results of the FCC wireless auction last night.
Previously: FCC spectrum auction bids top $14B http://seekingalpha.com/news/2135105-fcc-spectrum-auction-bids-top-14b
http://seekingalpha.com/news/213678...-after-strong-fcc-wireless-auction#email_link

 

[whitewolf8214]

FCC auction bids hit $33B
Nov 21 2014, 17:22 ET | By: Eric Jhonsa, SA News Editor

Following 26 rounds, total bids in the FCC's AWS-3 spectrum auction have reached $33B - up from $24B two days ago. Though the auction's pace has slowed, more than $1B worth of bids were still tallied in the latest round.
Walter Piecyk observes the average bid is now at $2.04/MHz./POP, far above his initial estimate range of $0.75-$1.25, and that it implies DISH's existing spectrum assets are worth over $73/share alone. Dish rose 2.1% today to $73.70.
Tim Farrar thinks Dish may have bid over $10B, as it tries to both add to its spectrum portfolio (thus increasing its strategic value to carriers) and inflate the value of its existing assets. In addition to bidding against AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile for paired spectrum assets (the auction's main prize), Dish is expected to be the winning bidder for 15MHz. of unpaired spectrum.
Meanwhile, the FCC has announced it will vote on rules for its 600MHz. incentive auction (due in 2016, and expected to be even bigger) in December. If approved, the rules will then by opened for public comment.
Sticker shock? While the S&P rose 1.2% this week, AT&T (NYSE:T) fell 1.7% and Verizon (NYSE:VZ) fell 2.5%.
http://seekingalpha.com/news/2143505-fcc-auction-bids-hit-33b#email_link