Forward Auction Bidders Announced; Sinclair, Rama Out

The FCC list of entities qualified to bid in the forward portion of the incentive auction contains all the companies expected to provide major bidding muscle but omits two expected new entrants, Sinclair and Social Capital Rama Spectrum Holdings, according to a Friday public notice (see 1607110052). With AT&T, Comcast, Dish Network, T-Mobile and Verizon in the list of 62 qualified bidders, the companies that didn't qualify aren't expected to have much of an effect on the auction, a broadcast attorney told us. Social Capital, a boutique investment firm owned by Chamath Palihapitiya, signaled an interest in buying spectrum, as did Sinclair, but because of the amount of money involved, their lack of participation isn't expected to be a major factor in the auction's success, an attorney who follows the auction told us. Bidders who aren't on the qualified list can't participate in the forward auction or any of its subsequent stages, an FCC spokesman told us. Becoming a qualified bidder required a timely submitted upfront payment, and those on the unqualified list likely chose not to make that payment, attorneys told us. The forward auction bidding system will be available to bidders starting Tuesday, and a clock phase practice auction will be July 25-July 29. A mock forward auction will be Aug.11-Aug. 12, the PN said. The real forward auction will begin Aug. 16 with a single round. “We will set the pace of the auction based upon monitoring of the bidding and assessment of the auction’s progress,” the PN said.