Bidding in FCC’s C- and F-block PCS auction continued to edge up ...

Bidding in FCC’s C- and F-block PCS auction continued to edge up in small increments Fri., with total hitting $16.8 billion. Bids for top 3 participants were little changed, with Verizon Wireless at $8.9 billion, AT&T-backed Alaska Native Wireless $2.8 billion and Cingular Wireless-backed Salmon PCS $2.4 billion. DCC PCS had $539.4 million, followed by Cook Inlet/VoiceStream GSM with $510.4 million, VoiceStream PCS with $479.4 million, and Leap Wireless with $342.3 million. Competition appeared to have cooled somewhat for N.Y.C. licenses, whose highest bids have remained unchanged for last several rounds. Verizon has top bids of $2.05 billion and $2.03 billion for 2 licenses in that market, with Alaska Native Wireless bidding $1.5 billion for 3rd. Verizon also has top bids for licenses in L.A. and Chicago, at much lower price levels of $513.5 million and $494.6 million, respectively. Auction for 422 licenses began Dec. 12 and has gone 73 rounds, with FCC stepping up bidding last week to 6 rounds daily from 4 to accelerate pace. Among 15 most populous markets, Verizon Wireless has high bids for 9 licenses, Alaska Native Wireless for 2, Salmon PCS for 3 and DCC PCS for one in Washington.