Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile dominate the $ 81 billion 5G spectrum auction

The largest wireless carrier in the country Dominate the latest 5G spectrum for the FCC The auction house, pushing revenue to a smashing record price of more than $ 81 billion. The FCC released the winning bids and names of the five largest bidders for the auction on Wednesday.

Verizon, bidding under the Cellco Partnership, spent the largest amount on the auction offering $ 45 billion for 3,511 licenses for the spectrum. AT&T came in the second bid, worth $ 23 billion, for 1,621 licenses. T-Mobile had the third highest bid with $ 9 billion for 142 licenses.

The so-called C-band spectrum, which includes 500 MHz of spectrum between 3.7 and 4.2 GHz, has been used by satellite providers to provide video programming to cable providers. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) began auctioning 280MHz of block spectrum in December and ended January 15th. About 200 MHz of spectrum in this band will continue to be used for television programming.

Wireless experts expected the auction for the mid-band spectrum to generate a lot of interest. Some predicted that the value of the precious spectrum could reach $ 60 billion. But the bottom line came from those projections, as it raised more than $ 81 billion for the United States’ Treasury.

The high prices and final list of winners underscore the high value the country’s largest wireless service providers have placed on the mid-range spectrum for building their 5G networks.

5G is The next generation of wireless Which is expected to increase network speeds and make networks more responsive. Technology can help create applications such as Autonomous Vehicles Reality AR will be presented Virtual reality experiences to me smart phones.

Medium-band spectrum, such as C-band, is important to 5G deployments because it provides geographic coverage and the ability to transfer large amounts of data. This combination is particularly appealing to wireless giants trying to fill their spectrum wallets.

“For America’s economic recovery, it is imperative that we deliver on the promise of next-generation wireless services for everyone, everywhere,” said Jessica Rosenworsel, acting chair of the Federal Communications Commission. “This auction reflects a shift in our country’s approach to 5G towards mid-range spectrum that can support fast, reliable, ubiquitous service that is competitive with our global counterparts.”