FCC Auctions 200 Wireless Licenses: Comment on Auction 113 Rules
Published Date: 3/20/2025
Proposed Rule
Summary
The FCC is gearing up to auction 200 wireless licenses in the AWS-3 bands, opening the door for companies to boost their wireless services. They want your thoughts on how the auction should run, with comments due by April 10, 2025. This auction could shake up the wireless world and involve big money moves, so get ready to weigh in!
Analyzed Economic Effects
10 provisions identified: 4 benefits, 3 costs, 3 mixed.
Small Business and Rural Bidding Credit Limits
The FCC proposes a $25 million cap on total small business bidding credits and a $10 million cap on rural service provider bidding credits for Auction 113. The Commission proposes to use small business size tiers tied to five‑year average gross revenues with thresholds of $55 million, $20 million, and $4 million, and a proposed 15% rural service provider bidding credit for eligible rural providers (entities with fewer than 250,000 combined subscribers in primarily rural areas; a rural county is defined as ≤100 persons per square mile).
Coordination, Protection Zones, and Interference Rules
AWS‑3 licensees in the 1695‑1710 MHz and 1755‑1780 MHz bands must coordinate with Federal incumbents in designated Protection Zones and must not cause harmful interference to incumbent Federal entities relocating under approved transition plans. Licensees in the 1755‑1780 MHz band must accept interference from incumbent Federal users while they remain authorized. AWS‑3 licensees in the 2155‑2180 MHz band may need to protect, relocate, and/or share relocation costs for certain non‑Federal incumbents.
200 AWS‑3 Licenses Offered at Auction 113
The FCC will offer 200 wireless licenses in the AWS‑3 bands (1695‑1710 MHz, 1755‑1780 MHz, and 2155‑2180 MHz) in Auction 113. Of the 200 licenses, 48 are Economic Area (EA) licenses and 152 are Cellular Market Area (CMA) licenses; blocks will be in 5, 10, or 20 MHz configurations. Comments on auction procedures are due April 10, 2025.
Auction Proceeds Fund Reimbursement Program
Proceeds from Auction 113 will be used to support the Commission's Supply Chain Reimbursement Program that reimburses eligible advanced communications service providers for costs to remove, replace, and dispose of Huawei or ZTE equipment and services obtained on or before June 30, 2020.
Upfront Payment Cash Requirements
Bidders must make a refundable upfront payment to qualify. Proposed upfront payments for paired licenses are $0.005 per MHz‑pop for areas with population <300,000; $0.01 per MHz‑pop for populations ≥300,000 and <1,000,000; and $0.025 per MHz‑pop for populations ≥1,000,000. Unpaired licenses are proposed at $0.005 per MHz‑pop. Minimum upfront payment is $500 per license, with specified rounding rules.
Bidding Units and Eligibility Rules
A bidder's initial eligibility in the auction will be based on its upfront payment, with one bidding unit assigned per $100 of upfront payment. Each license has a fixed number of bidding units; a bidder cannot increase its eligibility during the auction and may only maintain or decrease eligibility.
Signed Acknowledgement for 1755‑1780 MHz Applicants
Applicants seeking to bid on licenses in the 1755‑1780 MHz band would be required to attach a signed statement to their short‑form application acknowledging that operations in that band may be subject to interference from Federal systems in certain geographic zones and that the applicant must accept such interference.
Proposed Clock‑1 Auction Format (License‑by‑License)
The FCC proposes a 'clock‑1' ascending clock auction format for Auction 113 in which bidders will bid license‑by‑license in multiple rounds, prices rise when there is excess demand, and bidding ends when demand for every license is one or zero; there will be no separate assignment phase.
Designation of Nationwide Providers; Communication Ban
For purposes of the rule that prohibits certain communications after the short‑form deadline, the FCC proposes to identify AT&T, T‑Mobile, and Verizon as the ‘nationwide providers’. After the short‑form filing deadline, applicants are generally prohibited from discussing bids or bidding strategies with these designated nationwide providers.
Anonymous Bidding and Limited Public Information
The FCC proposes to withhold certain bidder information until after bidding closes — including which licenses an applicant selected on FCC Form 175, upfront payment amounts, bidding eligibility, and other bidding‑related data — and to not publish real‑time bidding activity during rounds.
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Key Dates
Department and Agencies
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