The FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau has set July 14 to auction direct broadcast satellite licenses in the 12.2 to 12.7 GHz band. Auction No. 52 will include three licenses for channels at orbit locations of 175° W.L., 166° W.L., and 157° W.L.
The license to use the two available channels at the eastern orbit location of 61.5º W.L., which was included in the list of licenses available for auction in the Auction No. 52 Comment Public Notice, will not be offered in Auction No. 52 because still pending is the issue of whether any eligibility restrictions are appropriate for this license, the FCC said.
Bidding on the remaining channels requires an advance payment of $2.9 million and a minimum opening bid of $5.8 million, or $200,000 per channel. Licenses for two channels that reach the entire U.S. mainland at 61.5-degrees have been excluded from the auction. This auction was originally set for last summer.