700 MHz Auction: Seventh Round results

After seven rounds of bidding, the FCC has more than $5.3 billion in provisionally winning bids for its 700 MHz auction. There is, once again, a single bidder in the lead for the C Block of spectrum, which is going for $2.55 billion. After the sixth round the sum of provisionally winning bids for the eight regional parts of the C Block was greater than the last bid for the nationwide package of C Block spectrum. Round six's results opened up the possibility for more than one bidder--possibly eight bidders--winning chunks of the C Block of spectrum, which carries with it an FCC mandate for open access.

The D Block of spectrum, which was set aside for a public-private partnership that would equip public safety officials with a network that it shares with a private venture, still has only one $472 million bid from the first round.