Already a success?

The auction for what is called the 700 MHz spectrum (a range of 90 MHz band to be returned by broadcasters next year) in the US has already reached $18bn, well above the $15bn projected high. The second good news is meeting the $4.6bn reserve price for the nationwide package of eight regional C-Block licenses, achieving an open-access condition on a portion of the spectrum being auctioned. Open access is gradually making ground in the US, with the three major MNOs announcing they would allow third-party devices and applications to connect to their networks. The bad news is coming from the D-block national commercial/public-safety license that only get one bid at $472m, far below the $1.3bn reserve price set for the license. What would happen if no more bids? We will see.