FCC's AWS-3 auction starts slow with low demand so far

The Federal Communications Commission's AWS-3 spectrum auction got off to a sluggish start with low bidding activity for most markets and little sign so far of the speculation that SpaceX might shake up proceedings. Bidding opened on Tuesday, June 2. After the first three days and nine rounds so far, total bids reached $104 million. Out of the 200 licenses available, 39 received no offers. The early results will look disappointing, but perhaps not surprising because bidding typically picks up in later rounds. The AWS-3 auction, Auction 113, offers licenses for spectrum in the 1695­­–1710MHz, 1755–1780MHz and 2155–2180MHz bands that can boost 5G in targeted geographic areas. The licensed areas cover 100 million people across 48 states and two US territories.The licenses deemed to be most valuable are in three big cities, Boston, Chicago and New York, according to New Street Research, which provides a daily update on the auction results and bidding patterns. At the start, 14 licenses had four bidders while 52 licenses attracted three bidders, which is a sign of the initial muted response.