T-Mobile, Dish Network Big Auction Winners

(Satellite Business News) — T-Mobile and Dish Network wound up being the biggest spenders in the FCC’s auction of wireless spectrum handed by broadcasters in return for a portion of the proceeds, the agency announced Thursday. The auction involved 84 megahertz of bandwidth of so-called low-band spectrum, the FCC said.

Of the $19,768 billion in gross proceeds bid in the auction, those two companies alone accounted for some $14.2 billion — or approximately 72% — of the winning bids.

Other major winners in the auction included Comcast, which spent $1,724 billion.

The nation’s two wireless giants, AT&T and Verizon, did not play major roles in the auction. AT&T spent only $910 million and Verizon did not win any spectrum at all after indicating it would bid.

Of more importance to some, the FCC said yesterday the so-called anti-collusion period, during which bidders were prevented from talking to each other or publicly commenting on their auction plans, is scheduled to end April 27.

As reported, many expect a new round of talks among wireless companies to begin after that date, with some predicting more consolidation in the wireless business will follow. The FCC said final payments on the spectrum won will be due May 11.

Dish Network, using a entity called “Parker B” in the auction, will be required to pay the FCC slightly more than $4.7 billion more by that date. T-Mobile will be required to fork over almost $5.8 billion more by that deadline.

Both of those companies won spectrum in all 416 geographic areas designated by the FCC, including the nation’s largest markets.

AT&T had been expected to be a larger bidder in the auction, though it this week announced a $1.6 billion to acquire spectrum holder Straight Path Communications — a deal some reports yesterday said Verizon could try to win with a higher offer.

The FCC said some 50 companies won spectrum in the auction, but none came close to T-Mobile or Dish Network in terms of amounts. Moreover, Dish Network did not attempt to use so-called “designated entity” discounts for small businesses in an attempt to reduce the amount it had to pay in the auction.

Dish Network’s affiliation with two entities it controls 80% percent of became a huge controversy in the last spectrum auction the company participated in. The FCC eventually denied some $3 billion in discounts to those entities, which those two companies have appealed in court.

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