Is the end in sight?: Auction 73 slows as FCC prods bidders

Sensing a slowdown in the proceedings, the Federal Communications Commission instituted its so-called “Stage Two Transition” beginning with this morning’s round 36, effectively requiring 700 MHz auction participants to keep bidding or quit the game. The rule stipulates that bidders must be active on at least 95% of their current bidding eligibility in each round.

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With the rules in effect, bidding during today’s opening three rounds was up slightly, with more than 200 bids placed during each round, more than double the 87 new bids placed during round 34 yesterday. New potential winning bids added nearly $42 million to the auction’s total, which stood at $18.98 billion after round 38.

Most of the current action is happening in smaller markets; the E-Block license covering the Los Angeles area was the highest-priced license receiving a new bid in round 38. That license is at $74.9 million.

The E Block received the most number of new bids during round 38, with 89 new potential winning bids placed for the unpaired 6 megahertz of spectrum. Total bids for the block stood at $841.8 million after round 38, which was just over 93% of the reserve price required to make the auction for that block stick.

Bidding on the now-open C-Block licenses seems to have come to a close with no new bids since round 30. With the FCC’s stage-two requirements in place, it’s unlikely any bidders have enough bidding eligibility left to outbid the potential winning price on any of the eight C-Block licenses covering the 50 states. As it sits, potential winning bids for the C-Block licenses is at $4.748 billion, or 76 cents per megahertz/potential customers covered, according to Optimal Markets Inc.

The vast majority of the 1,099 licenses up for grabs have received bids; only a handful of B- and E-Block licenses have not yet received attention from the auction’s participants.