The FCC on Monday decided to double the clock price increment starting Wednesday, as the spectrum auction proceeds continued to creep slowly upward.
Beginning Wednesday, Feb. 1, the FCC will implement a 10 percent increment to set new clock prices for all products in each round. The increment is double the 5 percent figure the FCC has used up to this point. The new increment will be reflected in the clock prices announced after the close of bidding Tuesday, the Commission indicated.
The move comes in the context of auction proceeds that have continued to increase, but at a pace BTIG’s Walter Piecyk in a Thursday note last week dubbed “anemic.”
As of the end of Round 10, auction proceeds had reached $18.52 billion. By the close of Round 17, that figured had risen only slightly to $18.67 billion. The increases have come mainly from bidding activity in smaller markets outside the top 40. But while those only account for less than 20 percent of total auction proceeds, the auction will continue until there is no bidding activity.
The proceedings have already satisfied the final stage rule, meaning the auction will come to a close after forward bidding concludes. Getting there, however, is taking longer than anticipated.
In Piecyk’s note, he forecast the end of Stage 4 would come around Feb. 15, with the assignment phase that will follow ending on March 1. The anti-collusion period, he predicted, will be lifted by the end of March.
Filed Under: Telecommunications (Spectrum)
