AUCTION NEWS: Is the end near?

WASHINGTON—Bidding continues to slow in the advanced wireless services spectrum auction with only 91 new bids being entered in round 67, though the number of bids was up slightly from the 83 bids placed in rounds 65 and 66. The number of bids per round has been below 100 since round 62.

Bear Stearns telecommunications analyst Phil Cusick noted in a research note that he expects the auction could conclude over the next two weeks.

The auction, now in its 17th day, has raised a total of $13.7 billion in net bids, with 112 eligible bidders left and only 77 licenses without bids. The majority of licenses still changing hands are the A-block licenses, which offer 20 megahertz of spectrum in geographically small Cellular Market Areas; 734 of those licenses were originally offered up.

Leap Wireless International Inc. is battling several designated entities for spectrum in places such as South Carolina and Kansas. The regional carrier has been dueling with Palmetto Rural Telephone Cooperative Inc. for the South Carolina 8 A-block license; Palmetto currently holds the license with a high bids of $1 million. The South Carolina 3 license has been going back and forth between Leap and Chester Telephone Co., and now stands at $290,000 in Chester’s hands. Meanwhile, Leap has outbid DE Red Rock Spectrum Holding L.L.C. for multiple licenses in Kansas and Washington. Leap had bid $683 million for 90 licenses as of round 67.

Among other bidders:

Sprint Nextel Corp.’s joint venture with several cable companies had 130 high bids worth $2.3 billion.

Dobson Communications Corp. had high bids on 83 licenses, totaling $54 million.

Cingular Wireless L.L.C. had garnered 48 licenses for a cost of $1.3 billion as of round 67.

NextWave Telecom Inc. had bid $111 million for 147 licenses.

T-Mobile USA Inc. had committed $4.1 billion for 119 spectrum licenses.