The FCC completed its first round of LMDS license auctions on Wednesday, paving the way for wireless services to offer voice, video, and data transmission services of up to 1Gbps. The FCC received 844 bids adding up to a total of $322.5m. WNP Communications bid $135.7m for licenses in various markets covering a population of 110 million. Another big bidder was US West Inc, which bid $35m for coverage of 35 million people. The highest bids so far could yet be surpassed, however, by bids for the same licenses in other rounds. Unlike in the widely criticized C-block wireless license auctions held last year and used for personal communications systems (PCS), bidders have to pay up the full value of the bid before they can operate their licenses. With the C block bidding, installment payments were expected but this lead companies to overstretch in the bidding – with some license winning companies forced into bankruptcy. The FCC will continue to hold further rounds of bidding until it feels it has exhausted interest. The process could is expected to take months before licenses will be awarded.
