C-Band Auction Starts Dec 8, 57 Vie for Coveted Mid-Band Spectrum

The C-band auction gets underway Dec 8, pitting 57 entities against one another for coveted mid-band wireless spectrum. All three major mobile carriers, as well as smaller carriers, cable companies, fixed wireless internet service providers (WISPs) and others have qualified to bid in the auction, also known as Auction 107 or the 3.7 GHz auction. The C-band includes 280 MHz of spectrum between 3.7 and 3.98 GHz. It’s viewed as mid-band spectrum well suited to 5G deployment because it is seen as offering the optimum mixture of range and speed. Recent estimates of how much money the auction will raise are in the tens of billions of dollars. MITRE expects the auction to raise about $25 billion, while New Street Research reportedly forecasts $51 billion.