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The auction has attracted strong interest from all of the US’ major mobile network operators, who are keen to add mmWave spectrum to their 5G portfolios
US operators have spent $861 million after 17 rounds of bidding in the country’s 24GHz 5G spectrum auction.
The auction will grant 2,909 licences in the 24GHz band across the US. The lower segment of the 24GHz band (24.25–24.45 GHz) will be licensed as two 100-megahertz blocks, and the upper segment (24.75–25.25 GHz) will be licensed as five 100-megahertz blocks.
AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon and Sprint have all submitted bids. Winning bids will be revealed after the conclusion of the forthcoming 28GHz auction.
The biggest bids in the 24GHz auction were for licences in the New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco.
The money raised highlights the high levels of interest in mmWave spectrum from US mobile network operators, as they look to roll out 5G mobile services in the coming months.
AT&T and Verizon have already committed to making their 5G networks available to consumers in the second half of 2019, with T-Mobile and Sprint targeting a launch date in the first half of 2020.
