March 24, 2008

Going, Going, Gone ...

By Jonathan Tombes

Results from the FCC's 700 MHz auction emerged last Friday. Sister publication CableFAX Daily offered this rundown on the MSOs engaged in this auction, the amount they bid and what they got:

• Cox Communications; $304.6 million; 22 licenses, including blocks in New Orleans and Las Vegas
• Vulcan (linked to Charter Communications); $112 million; two A Block licenses.
• Bend Broadband; $6.7 million; one Oregon-based license
• Bresnan Communications; $3.9 million; three licenses in MT.

Cable's competitors unleashed much greater amounts of cash. CableFAX reported that Verizon spent $9.63 billion (some 22 times as much as the total listed above) on all of the regional C block licenses; AT&T spent $6.7 billion on 227 licenses; and Echostar acquired 168 E Block licenses for $711 million.

- Jonathan Tombes