The Federal Communications Commission shared the results of its long-awaited. A company called Cellco Partnership, better known as Verizon (parent company of Engadget), came out of the process as the winner. It spent $ 45.4 billion, more than all other participants combined, to secure 3,511 individual 20 MHz blocks of spectrum across the country. AT&T came in second place, winning 1,621 licenses at a cost of $ 23.4 billion. Third, you have two different companies. In terms of spending, it was T-Mobile with its $ 9.3 billion in bids, but US Cellular was ahead of the operator with 254 licenses for its 142. In all, the auction raised more than $ 81 billion, significantly more than $ 20 to $ 30 billion of unexpected gains that were projected last summer.
All three major operators will use the spectrum to build their 5G networks. For Verizon, however, the auction was a mandatory victory in many ways. Until today, its construction depended mainly on. This allowed him to build a fast 5G network, but. Millimeter waves are notoriously unstable. They cannot travel far and they sway so quickly that they tend to spread against the walls and obstacles they encounter. Its new spectrum will allow Verizon to build its 5G network without deploying cell sites at each intersection.
Now this #CBand the auction results are public, time for operators to start explaining what they will do with their billions of dollars of new spectrum.
Verizon is the first with an investor day on 10/3. T-Mobile continues with its own event for analysts on 11/03.
– Eli Blumenthal (@eliblumenthal) February 24, 2021
What is more surprising is the amount of money AT&T has spent. It has only recently reduced its debt burden to around and is now spending $ 23.4 billion. But while T-Mobile could afford to relax because of its $ 23 billion, AT&T did not. The operator needs this spectrum to remain competitive. So remarkable are the companies that have not abandoned any spectrum. Comcast, Charter and Cox formed a joint venture called C&C Wireless Holding to participate in the auction and won no license.
In many ways, it is just the easy part that is done now. Now, operators must really build the infrastructure that will take advantage of the spectrum they have gained. It may also take a while for most people to realize the benefits of these investments. Although part of the C band spectrum will be available by the end of the year, other parts will not be ready until 2023.