On Thursday, an anonymous bidder (Google/Verizon??) finally exceeded the $4.6 billion reserve price for the nationwide C block of 700-MHz spectrum. The $4.71 billion bid, which came during the 17th round, means that some sort of open access network will likely become a reality here in the U.S. Had that $4.6 billion minimum not been met, FCC rules would have mandated that a subsequent auction for the block be held without the open access rules attached.
During rounds 18 and 19, the package did not pick up additional bids and continues to stand at $4.7 billion with the new minimum bid for round 20 set at nearly $5.2 billion.
In other good news, the FCC has also seen overall bids for 700-MHz licenses exceed $10 billion. As of Thursday afternoon a total of $13.7 billion has been bid for various local and national blocks and licenses. The government agency had aimed for between $10 and $15 billion in total winning bids before the auction began. The auction will continue until no fresh bids are made.
