FCC announces mid-band auction winners
September 3, 2020
The US’s Federal Communications Commission has released the results of the recently-concluded auction of 70 megahertz of Priority Access Licenses (PALs) in the 3550-3650 MHz band for 5G. The auction made available the greatest number of spectrum licences ever in a single FCC auction.
Auction 105 gross proceeds reached $4,585,663,345, with net proceeds totalling $4,543,232,339. A total of 228 bidders won 20,625 of 22,631, or more than 91.1 per cent, of available licences.
The five bidders with the largest total winning bid amounts were as follows:
| Bidder | Total Winning Bids |
| Verizon Wireless Network Procurement LP | $1,893,791,991 |
| Wetterhorn Wireless LLC | $912,939,410 |
| Spectrum Wireless Holdings, LLC | $464,251,209 |
| XF Wireless Investment, LLC | $458,725,900 |
| Cox Communications, Inc. | $212,805,412 |
The five bidders winning the largest number of licences were as follows:
| Bidder | Number of PALs Won |
| Wetterhorn Wireless LLC | 5,492 |
| SAL Spectrum, LLC | 1,569 |
| AMG Technology Investment Group, LLC | 1,072 |
| Windstream Services LLC, Debtor-in-Possession | 1,014 |
| XF Wireless Investment, LLC | 830 |
Wetterhorn Wireless LLC is the bidding vehicle for DISH, with the remaining companies in the top five bidders by winning amounts all being cable companies. The third-largest bidder was Spectrum Wireless Holdings LLC, a subsidiary of Charter Communications. A unit of Comcast Corp. was the fourth-largest bidder. Cox Communications completed the top five.