T AT&T Inc

By Ryan Knutson 

Venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya boasted last year he was going to invest billions of dollars in a U.S. airwaves auction, with plans to disrupt AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc.

But when it came time to put money on the table, the Silicon Valley investor balked.

The Federal Communications Commission on Friday released a list of bidders who made deposits for its auction of wireless airwaves. The FCC is buying airwaves from television broadcasters and reselling them to wireless carriers and others.

Mr. Palihapitiya, who runs venture firm Social Capital, made bold claims that the cellular industry was ripe for disruption, and he was the one to disrupt it. He submitted an application to participate in the auction in March. His absence removes a potentially large bidder from the auction.

A spokeswoman for Mr. Palihapitiya declined to comment.

Of about 100 entities that filed initial applications, only 62 firms actually put down money. Those participants include AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile US Inc., Comcast Corp. and Dish Network Corp. Choosing not to participate: Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. and a group of individual bidders with personal connections.

The FCC said bidding on the airwaves will begin August 16. Until then, the FCC will hold education sessions and mock auctions to bring bidders up to speed.

The auction won't likely end until late this year or next. It's a complex process: the FCC is acquiring airwaves from TV broadcasters, then selling them to wireless carriers and others looking to get into the cellular business. If the FCC can't raise enough money from carriers, it resumes a reverse auction with broadcasters until the demand meets supply.

The first round of the reverse auction with TV broadcasters produced 126 megahertz of spectrum at a cost of $86.4 billion. It's unlikely carriers and cable companies are willing to buy that much, however, meaning the FCC will have to return to TV broadcasters to collect less spectrum and at a lower price.

Write to Ryan Knutson at ryan.knutson@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 15, 2016 15:35 ET (19:35 GMT)

AT&T (NYSE:T)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024

AT&T (NYSE:T)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024