The Federal Communications Commission said that unless there is limited competition, its spectrum auction that begins June 29, for licenses that will be used by operators to offer 3G wireless services, would use anonymous bidding.
How much is bid for each of the 1,122 licenses up for grab will be released.
The last time the FCC used blind bidding for a spectrum auction was about 12 years ago.
The FCC argues that disclosing who is bidding for what licenses can be used as signaling between bidders as a way to keep prices low.
Although our auctions have generally functioned well, allegations of collusive behavior have been raised in regard to past auctions, said FCC chairman Kevin Martin.
Despite various attempts to address these concerns, the Commission’s auction processes continue to provide opportunities for various types of collusion and other anti-competitive bidding behavior, he said.
Unfortunately, the ongoing susceptibility of our auctions to these practices is no secret; methods for exploiting our auctions have been described in detail.
Many large US wireless carriers, notably Cingular Wireless, previously opposed the withholding of bidding information. The company has declined to comment on the FCC’s decision, saying it had not yet fully reviewed the FCC’s ruling.
The upcoming auction is expected to run for several weeks and raise between $8bn and $15bn.
