Reporting

Absolutely not announced but I'm sure they made the go decision. Recent actions have made clear Verizon is going forward to 30-50 million homes, probably 2019-2022. This will require 100,000's of thousand of small cells and possibly over a million. Verizon wants the best network in America, probably unmatched in any other part of the world as well. Senior executives have made a dozen statements pointing the way. Verizon is a world leader in 5G research, with eleven cities mostly installed and about to go live. (Fixed only, upgrading to mobile as soon as it is ready ?2020-2021.) The technology has improved so much in the last year the engineers are confident. The cost is coming in lower than expected. Verizon can expect some crucial marketing and lobbying advantages. Everything has come together to make this the logical move for Verizon.

The third stage of the Federal Communications Commission's broadcast incentive spectrum auction closed Dec 1 after 52 rounds, with the broadcasters' new asking price now $40,313,164,425 for 108 MHz of spectrum. That is less than half of the broadcasters' original asking price, though that was for more spectrum. The FCC has said stage three of the forward auction is likely to begin Dec. 5, with all eyes on whether those bidders—wireless companies and others—will beat, meet, or at least approach that total. Beating or meeting it means the auction can close and the FCC can start the process of repacking TV stations into the smaller space, at least after there is a second mini-auction to allocate specific frequencies to the winning bidders.