5G auction price reaches record high

5G auction price reaches record high

In the United States, the Federal Communications Commission FCC's current auction of 5G cellular licenses has brought in more than $ 66.4 billion in bids in three weeks - a record amount that could change the way cellular operators do business for the next decade. The sum is already higher than the $ 44.9 billion generated by the 2015 auction of midrange wireless licenses that US wireless operators used to improve their 4G services. The same companies are now investing billions of dollars in the fifth generation of cellular communications. The 5G standard is designed to accelerate the flow of data to phones and other wireless devices such as PCs, cars and industrial plants. All bids are kept secret until the end of the auction process. Analysts expect big names like AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. to get a large chunk of the licenses to match the capacity rival T-Mobile US Inc. received with its acquisition of Sprint in February. "The mid-band spectrum will be the future of 5G," said Walt Piecyk, a telecommunications analyst with analysis house Lightshed Partners. He added that T-Mobile's merger with Sprint "clearly puts pressure on Verizon and AT&T" to catch up with their rival's war chest.