FCC Reverse Auction Set For Accelerated Start

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As predicted, Tuesday, Dec. 13 at 10 a.m. will see the start of Round 1 in Stage 4 of the FCC’s Reverse Auction.


And, this round could finally bridge the wide gap between broadcast TV owners and wireless communications companies that has led some to predict an all-out failure to close the spectrum auction.

The new clearing target is 84 MHz, with 70 MHz of licensed spectrum.

Two hour-long bidding rounds will be seen from Tuesday through Friday, Dec. 16, at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Eastern.

Note that the bidding schedule for Stage 4 begins with rounds that last one hour. This is a change from previous stages when initial rounds were two hours in length.

Then, on Dec. 19, three hour-long bidding sessions will be held at 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Eastern through Dec. 23, when the 4 p.m. bidding session is omitted as Christians prepare for Christmas Weekend.

Bidding resumes Jan. 3, 2017, when the Federal government returns to Capitol Hill to complete a lame-duck Congressional session and exiting legislators pack up their final belongings.

Stage 4 of the Spectrum Auction comes as no surprise to many observers — and after Stage 3 of the Forward Auction failed to reach Round 2. The result of Stage 3 bidding in the FCC Forward Auction:  $19,676,240,520.

Bidding in Stage 3 of the FCC Reverse Auction concluded with a new clearing cost of exactly $40,313,164,425.

The Stage 3 Forward Auction clearing target was 108 MHz, representing 80 MHz of licensed spectrum.