The paired spectrum in the AWS-3 auction runs from 1755MHz-1780MHz (uplink) and 2155MHz-2180MHz for downlink, and those bands are said to have drawn the overwhelming majority of bids to date. By comparison, the unpaired uplink spectrum licences in the 1695MHz-1710MHz band have received only a fraction of the bids.
As previously reported by TeleGeography’s CommsUpdate, the FCC is auctioning off 880 licences for the larger ‘Economic Area’ franchises alongside 734 concessions for smaller ‘Cellular Market Area’ franchises. A total of 70 companies were qualified to participate in the auction process, including AT&T Mobility (bidding as AT&T Wireless Services 3 LLC), DoCoMo Pacific, Puerto Rico Telephone Company, Teleguam Holdings and T-Mobile US. Verizon Wireless is bidding as Cellco Partnership d/b/a Verizon Wireless, while satellite TV giant DISH Network is bidding under the name American AWS-3 Wireless.