Winners of wireless auction to pay $7 billion

Article Abstract:

The FCC has completed the largest auction in history by selling off US radio licenses for $7 billion to companies developing new wireless communications services for computers and telephones. The FCC auctioned off 99 large licenses to offer personal communications services, such as cellular telephone, two-way wireless links and new information services. The largest bidder was Sprint Corp, which successfully bid $2.1 billion for licenses in 29 regional and metropolitan markets. AT&T came in second with its bid of $1.7 billion for 21 markets, and a consortium of three Baby Bell companies came in third with its bid of $1.1 billion for 11 markets. The FCC is now within reach of its goal to raise $10 billion in its wireless auctions. The next round of auctions is scheduled to begin around the end of Apr 1995 and will cover licenses for small businesses and companies owned by women and minorities.

Planning, Sprint Corp., Government Activity

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Big bidders win auction for the small; F.C.C. licenses go to Asian-backed groups

Article Abstract:

The FCC has concluded its special auction of wireless licenses that were reserved for small businesses, but many businesses are disturbed by the significant Asian support for the bid winning corporations. Businesses are complaining that the auction has failed to meet its small American and minority-owned business goals, since the companies poised to obtain the valuable personal communication services licenses have significant Asian backing. FCC officials claim that no winner will exceed the foreign-ownership rules and indicate that the auction will benefit the American public by bringing new competitors into the personal communications services market. The winning bidders in this auction are spending about twice as much as telephone giants, such as AT&T and Sprint. This is due, in part, to a 10 year payback period, which effectively decreases the total price.

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Two bidders quit wireless auction: prices are high for federal licenses

Article Abstract:

U.S Airwaves Holdings and Craig O. McCaw have dropped out of the Federal Government's auction of new wireless communications licenses as bidding exceeds $6 billion. U.S. Airwaves had intended to purchase licenses covering the entire country with the financial backing of Sony, MCI Communications and Hyundai. Billionaire Craig McCaw, founder of McCaw Cellular Communications, exited the auction after bidding more than $300 million for licenses for several midsized cities. The departure of U.S. Airwaves and McCaw highlights the prohibitively high price of licenses even for competitors with strong financial backing. Many of the licenses are only open to small companies, but most of these are well-financed by large financial institutions and companies. The heavy investment by outside companies has made the bidding much more aggressive than expected.

McCaw, Craig O., U.S. AirWaves Inc.

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