WASHINGTON: The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said Friday it had opened bidding in its latest mid-band spectrum auction to boost next generation 5G<\/a> wireless services.
The new round will auction about 8,000 county-based licenses in the 2.5 GHz spectrum band in mostly rural parts of the United States.
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said Friday \"we all know there are gaps in 5G<\/a> coverage, especially in rural America, and this auction is a unique opportunity to fill them in.\"
Congress last year approved $42.5 billion for Commerce Department grants to expand physical broadband deployment in places like rural areas without access to high-speed service.
The FCC has been auctioning spectrum in recent years to help address the rising demand for wireless connectivity as the number of internet-connected devices rises sharply.
In January, AT&T<\/a> Inc led bidders in the 3.45 GHz mid-band spectrum auction, winning $9.1 billion, while T-Mobile<\/a> won $2.9 billion and Dish<\/a> won $7.3 billion.
Last year, the three largest U.S. wireless companies won $78 billion in bids in an FCC C-Band spectrum auction.
Verizon Communications<\/a> ultimately paid $52 billion for 3,511 licenses and to quickly clear its use, while AT&T won $23.4 billion in licenses and T-Mobile<\/a> won $9.3 billion.
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr in March said the FCC should move to expand spectrum use and consider auctioning other spectrum including looking at the \"Lower 3 GHz band and several additional spectrum bands.\"
In February, the FCC and National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) vowed to improve coordination on spectrum management after a 5G aviation dispute threatened flights earlier this year.
The agencies said they will work cooperatively to resolve spectrum policy<\/a> issues and are holding formal, regular meetings to conduct joint spectrum planning.
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