Starting November 13th, the FCC will be implementing an AWS-3 (Advanced Wireless Service) spectrum auction. This will be the largest spectrum auction since 2008.
A total of 70 companies have qualified to participate the spectrum auction. This auction will focus on providing more frequencies to give consumer’s better wireless coverage and usage.
The FCC has two bands of spectrum available. First, the 1695-1710 MHz band will be licensed for unpaired spectrum used for low-power uplink operations. Secondly, the 1755-1780 MHz band will be licensed for low-power uplink spectrum paired with the 2155-2180 MHz band.
Within the auction there are two sub-bands each with their own specific plans:
- One plan consists of one unpaired 5 MHz block and one unpaired 10 MHz block, which will be licensed for Economic Area geographies.
- The other sub-band consists of paired spectrum with one 5×5 MHz block licensed to cellular markets, two 5×5 MHz blocks licensed to Economic Area geographies and one 10×10 MHz block licensed on an Economic Area basis.
Some of the spectrum available will be auctioned off for smaller geographical areas. This means that smaller regional carriers can bid on licenses that reflect their smaller networks footprints.