Home / Auction 107 (C-band): Policy Overview and Closing Bid Price Analysis of Expedited Access due to $9.7B in Accelerated Relocation Payments to Incumbent Satellite Operators
With the advent of 5G technology, C-Band spectrum (3.7 – 4.2 GHz) has become a valuable resource for mobile phone service providers as it supports a favorable balance between high data rates and propagation distance1. To increase the amount of spectrum available for 5G technology development in the United States, Federal Communication Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai released the Facilitate America’s Superiority in 5G Technology Plan (5G FAST Plan) under President Trump’s directive. In accordance with the 5G FAST Plan, the FCC issued the 3.7 GHz Report and Order (the Plan), which detailed a proposal for clearing and allotting portions of C-Band for 5G use through Auction 107. This paper covers the mechanics of Auction 107 (C-Band), evaluates the effects of the FCC’s authorization of $9.7B in Accelerated Relocation Payments and $3B – $5B in relocation reimbursements from winning bidders for expedited access to spectrum, and presents a policy overview regarding the payments and payment process. Ultimately, the authors find that bidders were willing to pay, on average, 15% more for licenses available two years earlier. To elaborate, under the Plan, incumbent non-mobile users, mainly fixed satellite service (FSS) operators, must relocate all existing services by late 2023 to the upper 200 MHz of C-Band (4000 – 4200 MHz) in exchange for compensation2. Auction 107 (C-Band) forwent a reverse auction, the standard method of price discovery for voluntarily clearing occupied spectrum, and instead utilized Accelerated Relocation Payments in addition to relocation reimbursements to expedite access to contiguous portions of C-band spectrum. Mobile operators bid $81.2B total despite having to additionally pay Accelerated Relocation Payments and relocation costs, making Auction 107 (C-Band) the highest grossing spectrum auction to date3. In Auction 107, five licenses (Category A) were made available two years earlier than nine licenses (Category BC) in each of 46 of the top fifty most populous Partial Economic Areas (PEAs), which are FCC-defined service areas. Category A (3.7 – 3.8 GHz) licenses’ closing bid prices were, on average, 15.0% greater than their delayed counterparts in Category BC (3.8 – 3.98 GHz), with 90.0% of Category A licenses having higher closing bid prices. In evaluating the process and outcome of Auction 107, the authors aim to offer valuable statistics to inform and improve future FCC auction mechanics and policy.