FCC Seeks Comment on Ascending Clock Auction for 2.5 GHz Band

The FCC took the next step on the next 5G auction Wednesday, seeking further comment on competitive bidding rules for a 2.5 GHz auction. The FCC imposed a tight deadline, with comments due Feb. 23. Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has been under pressure to announce a start date for the auction, which many see as the lowest of low-hanging fruit ready for FCC action (see 2112100045). The notice asks whether use of “an ascending clock auction format -- a multiple-round auction with bidding for frequency-specific blocks -- would address certain concerns and suggestions raised by commenters with respect to both the single-round and simultaneous multiple-round (SMR) auction formats.” In a notice approved in January 2021, the agency sought comment on both a single-round and traditional SMR format (see 2101130067). Carriers disagreed sharply. T-Mobile and Verizon urged an SMR auction, while AT&T wanted one finished in a single round (see 2105040077). “To date, the Commission has used an ascending clock auction format in situations in which multiple frequency blocks of similar spectrum were offered, where a clock auction could be conducted more efficiently than could an SMR auction with license-by-license bidding,” the FCC said. A footnote cites the 28 GHz and 24 GHz auctions. The notice asks whether upfront payments and bidding eligibility proposed for the auction “remain reasonable and appropriate” under a clock auction format. The FCC said it doesn’t want “further comment on other procedures proposed” last year. Under the proposed approach “the clock price for a license would increase from round to round if more than one bidder indicates demand for that license,” the notice said: “The bidding rounds would continue until, for all licenses -- that is, all categories in all counties -- the number of bidders demanding each license does not exceed one. Once bidding rounds stop, the bidder with demand for a license becomes the winning bidder.” Commissioners approved the initial notice 5-0 during former Chairman Ajit Pai’s last meeting. The Office of Economics and Analytics and Wireless Bureau released the notice without a commissioner vote.