Round 11 Raises $23 Million; 1-Hour Bid Rounds Start Monday

WASHINGTON—The TV spectrum incentive Stage 4 Round 11 forward auction raised a total of $23 million ($23,013,000) when bidding in the round concluded Thursday afternoon. All told, before discounts, the auction has raised a total of $18.5 billion ($18,545,525,787), inching up in successive rounds since closing conditions were met on Jan. 18.

Bidding in this final stage of the forward auction will resume tomorrow at 10 a.m. Eastern, with a second, two-hour round starting at 2 p.m. Eastern. Starting Monday, Jan. 30, 2017, and continuing each business day until further notice, the bidding schedule will increase to four, one-hour rounds per day, the commission said.

The schedule will be 10 to 11 a.m.; noon to 1 p.m.; 2 to 3 p.m.; and 4 to 5 p.m., all Eastern times.

The Federal Communications Commission said subsequent schedule changes could be made based on the auctions progress. The four-round schedule was posted on the FCC auction dashboard page through next Wednesday. Any changes will show up there. 

“Bidders logged in to the Auction System can check the schedule of upcoming rounds at any time by clicking on the Auction Schedule link in the navigation bar,” the schedule announcement said. It also offered a caveat to bidders. ”Caution: Bidders must ensure that they submit their bids before the end of each round. If a bidder fails to submit a bid for a product for which it has processed demand, the Auction System will consider that to be a missing bid. A missing bid will be treated as a request to reduce demand to zero. If that bid is applied partially or in full, the bidder’s eligibility may be irrevocably reduced. Bidders should have firm back-up arrangements—which may include calling the Auction Bidder Line—ready for immediate implementation in case they encounter any difficulties accessing the Auction System.”