Verizon Communications Inc. and other cellphone providers are expected to spend billions of dollars to secure prized spectrum for their 5G networks in a U.S. government sale that kicks off Tuesday.
The Federal Communications Commission is launching a new auction for C-band airwaves, a stretch of wireless frequencies especially valued by companies trying to offer the fifth-generation service.
Typical bidders like Verizon, AT&T Inc. and T-Mobile US Inc. registered to participate. Cable, technology and investment companies also entered the contest, which could last several weeks.
“They all need to have a foot in the door,” said Davis Hebert, an analyst at debt research firm CreditSights. “C-band is going to be the cornerstone of 5G networks for the next decade.”
Wall Street analysts expect the auction to raise tens of billions of dollars over the coming weeks, a reflection of high demand. The frequencies sit in what telecom executives consider a “sweet spot” for 5G transmissions because they can move plenty of data quickly while still traveling long distances from a cellular tower.
