FCC Closes AWS-3 Auction

The Federal Communications Commission announced the conclusion of its AWS-3 auction, which showed that the demand for spectrum is high. Auction bidding beat expectations with significant per-unit prices and gross winning bids exceeding $3.5 billion. Through the auction, valuable midband spectrum that was previously idle has been allocated for productive use. The auction also shows that the FCC’s Auctions program is running strong, despite the previous lapse in authority and a four-year gap in conducting an auction. The FCC is well prepared for its forthcoming Upper C-Band auction. The FCC is on schedule to meet Congress’s deadline to complete a system of competitive bidding for at least 100 megahertz in the Upper C-band no later than July 2027.