Stage 4 of the Federal Communications Commission’s Spectrum Auction ended on Friday, Jan. 13, with a new payout price of $10,054,676,822 needed to clear 84 MHz of TV spectrum space to resell to wireless operators. The fifth stage is set to being on Wednesday, Jan. 18.
The new $10 billion price is significantly lower than the original price of $86 billion that was asked for Stage 1. It has reduced every stage since, and yet it is still unclear whether or not bidders will reach this total.
Is this good news, or is it disappointing? Marci Ryvicker and the Wells Fargo Securities team believe it is good news.
“We view this as really good news,” they said. “The auction is going to end a lot sooner than we thought, which would allow for the broadcast and wireless companies (namely Dish in our coverage) to pursue M&A.”
