The FCC closed its auction of broadband Personal Communications Services (PCS) licenses, raising gross revenues of $2,253,802,000 and, after applying bidding credits, total net revenue of $2,043,230,450. The auction ended after 91 rounds of bidding. A total of 242 licenses for A, C, D, E, and F blocks of broadband PCS spectrum were offered, and 24 bidders won 217 licenses.
The auction included spectrum recovered through the settlement with NextWave Communications, which was reached last year. NextWave had acquired the spectrum in the first such auction in 1994, but later declared bankruptcy. The FCC revoked the license and the case was then tied up in litigation for many years.
http://www.fcc.gov/wtb/auctions/.
