On October 30, 2009, the Federal Communications Commission completed the auction of 78 licenses for unassigned Broadband Radio Service (“BRS”) spectrum.
The auction, designated Auction 86, raised a total of $19,426,600 with 10 winning bidders winning a total of 61 licenses. The auction, started on 10/27/2009 and closed on 10/30/2009. It had 16 Qualified Bidders for frequencies in the 2496-2502, 2602-2615, and 2616-2673.5 MHz bands.
In Auction 86 the largest winning bidder was Clearwire which won $11.1 million in licenses. The spectrum in the 2.6 GHz Broadband Radio Service (BRS) was previously known as Multipoint Distribution Services (“MDS”) and Multichannel Multipoint Distribution Service (“MMDS”). It was also used for Instructional Television Fixed Service (ITFS).
The overlaid licenses supplement the original licenses offered in Auction 6. The frequencies were made available as a result of default, cancellation, or termination. If an incumbent license cancels or is forfeited, the right to operate within that area reverts to the overlay licensee that holds the license for the service area. The service area for these licenses is a 35-mile circle centered at the station’s reference coordinates.
In Auction 6, which was completed in 1996, the Commission conducted competitive bidding for 493 Basic Trading Area (“BTA”) licenses to provide access to all BRS spectrum nationwide that was not covered by pre-existing MDS or MMDS site-based licenses.
A Basic Trading Area is a geographic region consisting of the counties surrounding a city designated as the basic trading center. The FCC uses the Rand McNally definition to locate some 493 BTAs in the United States for wireless licenses.
The Broadband Radio Service (BRS), in the 2.6 GHz band, has a maximum amount of spectrum available of 76.5 megahertz (pdf map). This maximum is not available in all service areas due to the existence of incumbent site-based licensees in the 2496-2690 MHz band.
In the United States, closed circuit educational television and data services in that band were found to be underutilized, prompting the FCC to make the frequencies available for broadband wireless. Clearwire became the leading proponent of the 2.6 GHz band. It is also targeted by international telecommunications companies for LTE spectrum.
