Update: Round One Ends in FCC Wireless Auction

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 8/9/2006 9:49:00 AM

With one round completed in the bidding for spectrum up for auction at the FCC, 731 bids have been cast and high bidders have offered a total $768,890,300 for 469 licenses. There are over 1,100 licenses up for bid and likely weeks more to go in the bidding.

Top bidders had not been posted yet.

The advanced wireless service (AWS) spectrum is expected to rake in anywhere from $7 billion to $20 billion for the treasury once the highest bid for each license has been submitted.

Bidding is online--sort of like eBay for wireless--but with only a single bid per two-hour round--from 168 qualified bidders. They include the major wireless players, many smaller companies, and DBS operators DirecTV and EchoStar.

The spectrum was reclaimed from government use and is being auctioned for advanced wireless services like broadband.

Broadcast spectrum reclaimed after the digital transition is being similarly auctioned next year.