AT&T, Dish Network, and T-Mobile US won the bulk of 3.45 GHz spectrum licenses in a just-closed auction that generated almost $21.3 billion, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reported.
AT&T came out on top spending almost $9.1 billion on 1,624 licenses, followed by Dish with $7.3 billion spent on 1,232 licenses, and T-Mobile spent $2.9 billion for 199 licenses. Verizon walked away empty handed.
The second mid-band spectrum auction to conclude in less than a year ended with less fanfare and roughly 26% of the total bid on last year’s record-breaking C-band spectrum auction.
The results of the 3.45 GHz spectrum auction hold few surprises, according to Craig Moffett, senior managing director at MoffettNathanson. Indeed, the outcome largely reflects the current mid-band spectrum needs of the winning bidders, and in a somewhat respective order.
Dish Spent $7.3B in 3.45 GHz Auction
“Dish spent more than expected, and AT&T a smidge less, but in rank order and in magnitude, the numbers were relatively close to expectations,” Moffett wrote in a research note.
Dish’s latest spectrum haul is especially noteworthy considering it has yet to deploy 5G service in a single U.S. market. The company maintains that it can build a nationwide 5G network with spectrum for which it already holds licenses and for less than $10 billion in cumulative capex.
Dish also faces a June 2022 deadline set by the FCC to cover 20% of the U.S. population with 5G service.
AT&T and Verizon, amid the final stages of this latest auction, were effectively forced to delay their use of C-band spectrum they licensed in February 2021 for a combined $68.9 billion. The six-week delay over potential interference with aircraft wasn’t a good look for anyone, but it also doesn’t appear to have impacted the outcome of the 3.45 GHz auction.
Verizon, the largest winning C-band licensee, plans to deploy 5G service on that spectrum reaching 100 million people in one fell swoop on Jan. 19. Meanwhile, AT&T plans to reach at least 70 million people with mid-band 5G service by the end of 2022.
T-Mobile boasts a mid-band 5G footprint that covers at least 210 million people today, and it intends to cover more than 300 million people by the end of 2023.
Mid-Band 5G Activities Ramping Up
Mid-band 5G deployments will comprise the bulk of all major U.S. carriers’ activities for the next few years, and long-term commitments made prior to the 3.45 GHz spectrum auction are likely to change as that spectrum becomes available for use.
“As always, spending money on spectrum is only the beginning. Now starts the spending on putting the new spectrum to work,” Moffett wrote.
“Carrier plans for the C-Band suggest that spectrum will ultimately be deployed in a fairly broad-based manner, rather than just in more densely populated areas of the country, and a similar result seems likely for this spectrum, given its broadly similar propagation attributes,” he concluded.
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January 15, 2022 at 05:53AM
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AT&T, Dish, T-Mobile Drop $19.3B on 3.45 GHz Spectrum - SDxCentral
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