The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) 28GHz 5G auction has hit $688.7 million this Monday (December 17), as the agency prepares for a "major" millimeter spectrum auction in 2019.
The FCC's auction dashboard chocked up $688,674,920 in total bids on Monday. The FCC now has 2,939 28GHz licenses with provisionally winning bids (PWBs) and 133 licenses left for sale. (See The FCC's 5G Auction Rolls On.)
The 28GHz auction is going on as the FCC has cleared the way for another 5G auction sometime in 2019. The FCC said last Wednesday (December 12) that it is planning "a major 5G spectrum auction in 2019," that combines the upper 37GHz, 39GHz and 47GHz millimeter wave bands, and will be held as an incentive auction to help clear the airwaves of satellite users. (See FCC Plans Major Spectrum Auction in 2019.)
A 24GHz auction is expected to follow hard on the heels of the 28GHz auction, and then the 37GHz/39GHz and 47GHz combination later in 2019. This likely means that the FCC will be dealing with auctions to open up nearly 5GHz of fresh bandwidth in high bands that haven't been used for wireless broadband before.
Meanwhile, the FCC says it will close down the 28GHz auction at 1:00 p.m. ET on Friday, Dec. 21, and re-open the auction at 10:00 a.m. ET on Jan. 3, 2019.
— Dan Jones, Mobile Editor, Light Reading