BELLEVUE, Wash. – January 29, 2015 – The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) today announced the conclusion of the AWS-3 spectrum auction which raised almost $45 billion in provisionally winning bids, showing the value of paired, internationally harmonized licensed spectrum. 4G Americas, a wireless industry trade association representing the 3GPP family of technologies, congratulates the FCC on their record success with Auction 97 which exceeded the amount of money raised and duration of bidding of all previous FCC spectrum auctions.
Along with the FCC, the hard work of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), Department of Defense, and authorizing Committees in Congress, has significantly contributed to the success of this historical auction.
“4G Americas has worked with many U.S. government agencies, other associations and private entities to bring about the AWS-3 spectrum to auction,” stated Chris Pearson, President of 4G Americas. “The benefits of the auction for wireless customers will be felt for years to come thanks to the collaboration of all involved.”
The paired spectrum up for bid in the auction included the G Block (1755-1760/2155-2160 MHz), H Block (1760-1765/2160-2165 MHz), I Block (1765-1770/2165-2170 MHz), and J Block (1770-1780MHz/2170-2180 MHz). 1.7/2.1 GHz AWS spectrum is under review throughout the Americas. Those paired, internationally harmonized bands resulted in the vast majority of the $45 billion in proceeds. These internationally harmonized AWS-3 bands auctioned for commercial use will help the FCC fund national priorities identified by Congress, including deficit reduction, the advancement of wireless public safety communications, the deployment of NG911 and FirstNet. The spectrum auctioned will ultimately assist the wireless industry in meeting the rise in customer demand for mobile broadband services and applications. To continue to meet this demand, the industry will need additional internationally harmonized spectrum. We urge the government to continue to review bands for reallocation and auction so the industry can continue to innovate and create jobs for our economy.
4G Americas is an industry trade organization composed of leading telecommunications service providers and manufacturers. The organization’s mission will advocate for and foster the advancement and full capabilities of LTE mobile broadband technologies, including LTE-Advanced and beyond to 5G, throughout the ecosystem’s networks, services, applications and wirelessly connected devices in the Americas. 4G Americas contributes to the success of 3GPP technologies and their No. 1 place in the region. 4G Americas is headquartered in Bellevue, Wash. More information is available at www.4gamericas.org or www.
4G Americas’ Board of Governors members include: Alcatel-Lucent, América Móvil, AT&T, Cable & Wireless, Cisco, CommScope, Entel, Ericsson, HP, Intel, Mavenir, Nokia, Openwave Mobility, Qualcomm, Sprint, T-Mobile US, Inc. and Telefónica.
