Bidding in the clock phase of the FCC incentive auction ended Friday after round 58, with forward auction bidders having bid $19.63 billion for 600 MHz spectrum that will be vacated by TV broadcasters, according to the Public Reporting System. Roughly $10 billion of those funds will go to pay broadcasters for winning bids in the reverse auction, more than $2 billion will go for reimbursement to repacked broadcasters and to cover the costs of the auction, and more than $6 billion will go to the federal treasury, Incentive Auction Task Force Chairman Gary Epstein and Deputy Chair Jean Kiddoo said in a blog post. The $19.63 billion raised in the forward auction means the incentive auction generated “the second highest total proceeds of any Commission spectrum license auction in its 20-plus year history,” said the blog post.

Wi-Fi advocates told the FCC it shouldn’t make changes to its rules for high-frequency spectrum that would be detrimental to unlicensed use of the bands. Microsoft, Public Knowledge and the Open Technology Institute and the Wi-Fi Alliance were among those weighing in. In December, wireless carriers sought changes (see 1612150067). Oppositions to the recon petitions were due at the FCC Tuesday in docket 14-177. Wireless industry commenters, meanwhile, opposed satellite industry petitions asking for the FCC to give fixed satellite service (FSS) downlink spectrum in the 42 GHz band and for less stringent rules on locating earth stations (see 1612160019).

The FCC must get the questions it asks right as it establishes reporting requirements for “repacked” broadcasters on their progress moving to new channels following the close of the TV incentive auction, NAB said in comments posted Thursday. T-Mobile, which made no secret of its interest in the 600 MHz spectrum being sold, encouraged the FCC to get as much information as possible. Earlier this month, the Incentive Auction Task Force sought comment (see 1701100057) on whether to require progress reports of repacked stations that don't receive repacking reimbursement funds. Comments were due Wednesday in docket 16-306, said a public notice.

The Stage 4 clearing cost for the TV incentive auction, $10.05 billion to clear 70 MHz of usable 600 MHz of spectrum, came as a surprise, but not a shock, to analysts and other auction watchers. Assuming the auction raises the $12.01 billion needed to pay broadcasters and close the auction, carriers bidding for 600 MHz licenses could get spectrum at a relative bargain price, auction watchers said. Overall, the FCC will need to clear 84 MHz to get 70 MHz into the hands of providers (see 1701130077).

The reverse auction portion of Stage 4 of the FCC incentive auction concluded Friday, as expected (see 1701100060), at a cost of $10.05 billion to clear 84 MHz, said the agency's Public Reporting System. That's a more precipitous drop from Stage 3's approximately $40 billion clearing costs than many analysts had predicted, they told us, and could indicate the auction may reach its final stage during the upcoming forward auction.With the cost of the repacking reimbursement fund and the auction added, the forward auction will need to raise a total of $12,011,676,822, according to the Incentive Auction Task Force. "I would expect that there will be enough interest among wireless bidders to close the incentive auction," said BIA/Kelsey Chief Economist Mark Fratrik, saying he was only “cautiously” optimistic. “If there is a God, Stage 4 closes,” said Preston Padden, an auction consultant to broadcasters.

An FCC transition plan provides sufficient time for carriers to deploy and broadcasters to exit the 600 MHz band after the incentive auction, T-Mobile officials said in a meeting with Matthew Berry, chief of staff to FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai. “T-Mobile noted its swift deployment of 700 MHz spectrum and noted that the performance of this low band spectrum has exceeded the company’s expectations for improving coverage for consumers in urban building and rural environments,” said a filing in docket 12-268. “T-Mobile affirmed its intention to deploy any 600 MHz spectrum it may obtain in the current auction with equal urgency to meet consumer demand.” T-Mobile filed similar comments at the FCC in November on the transition plan (see 1611160033). The carrier is expected to go big in the auction to fill in gaps and add to its low-band spectrum portfolio (see 1601060059).

The current average price per MHz pop in the incentive auction below the threshold needed to trigger the final stage rule won't lead to a failed auction, attorneys following the process said in interviews Monday. It may mean the auction is less likely to close in the current Stage 4 (see 1612050062) than is commonly thought, they said. To trigger the final stage rule, the average auction price this stage must reach $1.25 per MHz POP for the most valuable spectrum. When the reverse auction starts Tuesday (see 1612090028), the price will be a fraction under $1.22 per MHz pop, said the public notice announcing Stage 4.

Incoming House Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., faces much deliberation before picking his replacement as chair of the Communications Subcommittee, he told us Friday. But he predicts broad continuity on GOP telecom priorities in the next Congress and anticipates the many legislative initiatives from his own time as subcommittee chairman could be a springboard for Commerce going forward. Telecom and media industry officials issued many statements lauding Walden's ascendance.

Wireless carriers and broadcasters called on the FCC to introduce more flexibility into the post-auction repacking plan, in reply comments posted Wednesday in docket 16-306. Lawyers meanwhile told us the FCC is unlikely to grant a request filed in that docket Monday by GatesAir calling for the agency to incentivize broadcasters in the repacking to “Buy American” (see 1611150051). The FCC's repacking plan doesn't account for unexpected delays or broadcasters unable to meet the 39-month deadline, broadcasters and carriers said.

In the interim before it reaches its goal of a constellation of 900 cubesats put in orbit over 15 years (see 1511240022), Spire Global is asking the FCC International Bureau for approval to deploy up to 100 satellites in its Lemur-2 constellation next year. In an application amendment filed Monday, the maritime and meteorological monitoring and earth imaging services company said that interim step comes as the company has run into "complications in the completion of coordination for the frequencies" originally proposed for its Lemur-2 constellation. Monday's filing comes after the bureau in October approved Lemur-2's Phase I of up to 28 non-geostationary satellites, though it deferred action on Phase II and said that based on feedback from NTIA, future nonfederal satellite licenses using the 402-403 MHz band for downlinks would "only be exceptionally considered." It also didn't approve Spire using 402-403 MHz downlinks to four of its earth stations. In its application amendment, Spire said it was looking to add various downlinks and uplinks "to increase the flexibility it has to coordinate spectrum use with existing users." In Phase 1B, Spire said it wanted authorization to add 2200-2290 MHz and 401-402 MHz downlinks and 399.9-400.05 MHz uplinks to the frequencies allowed, as well as multiple receive-only frequencies. In Phase 1C, Spire said it also wanted authorization for addition of the 449.75-450.25 MHz uplink frequency. The company said it plans to launch its 100-satellite Lemur-2 constellation over the course of 16 separate launches in 2017, with each satellite having an operational lifetime of up to two years and an orbital lifetime of, at most, 12.8 years at the highest orbit sought, 600 kilometers.