5G’s Huge Upfront Bill Will Come Due

Wireless carriers clearly believe their own press about 5G. And they are wagering a huge sum to prove it. The latest auction of wireless spectrum licenses by the Federal Communications Commission ended on January 15 with a total of $80.9 billion. Adding in an estimated $13 billion to $14 billion in clearing costs to help move satellite operators to new frequencies will bring the total bill for this latest auction to around $95 billion—roughly triple what many analysts had projected. All for the purpose of securing the necessary capacity for the latest standard of wireless networking known as 5G. AT&T and Verizon likely paid the most -- because they needed the most. Winning the licenses is one thing; paying for them is another.