FCC finalizes qualified bidders for 24 GHz auction

As the Federal Communications Commission moves quickly to open up additional millimeter wave spectrum for commercial use, it has identified 38 qualified bidders who plan to participate in the upcoming 24 GHz auction. That’s two fewer qualified bidders than the previous mmWave auction for spectrum at 28 GHz, which concluded in late January after raising $702 million. Qualified Auction 102 participants include AT&T, T-Mobile US, Verizon and Sprint (bidding as ATI Sub LLC); U.S. Cellular; Dish Network, bidding as Crestone Wireless; Starry Spectrum Holdings and Windstream Communications, which just recently filed for bankruptcy protections. In addition to the 38 applicants who were deemed qualified, another 22 hopefuls fell into “nonqualified” status, the FCC reported. Qualification hinged on providing the FCC with appropriate information and certifications of a company’s status for bidding, as well as making an upfront payment. The FCC had initially taken in 60 bidding applications for the 24 GHz auction and found 58 of those complete. Would-be bidders who ended up with nonqualified status included Cox Communications, Frontier Communications, and regional provider Inland Cellular, among others. Ten of the qualified bidders will receive rural service provider bidding credits.