Cable/Telecom & Communications Infrastructure
RBC Capital Markets released their weekly roundup covering cable/telecom and communications infrastructure news. Brief summary below with a download link for entire report at the end.
C-Band auction update. C-band auction bids have reached $69.83B in gross proceeds after 45 rounds
of bidding. Bidding is set to resume January 4 after taking a break for the holidays. After 45 rounds,
the nationwide price for A block licenses per MHz Pop was $1.21, while BC prices were $1.11 per MHz
PoP according to BitPath COO Sasha Javid. New York has commanded the highest total price, standing
at around $515M for category A and BC. “Gross proceeds have been driven by surprisingly robust and
persistent demand,” wrote Javid. “In Round 36, I suspect that a large bidder pulled back significantly
in the largest markets given that all the top 10 markets experienced a drop in demand.” There are 57
participants in the clock phase, though winners won’t be disclosed until the auction ends. T-Mobile,
AT&T, Verizon and Dish are all among registered bidders. (Fierce Wireless)
FCC update. Outgoing Chairman Ajit Pai will use his last FCC meeting on Jan. 13 to showcase the
commission’s work over the past four years. “Serving as chairman of the FCC has been the honor of
a lifetime,” Pai wrote in a blog post. “And soon, my time in this position will conclude.” Pai expressed
pride in his efforts to increase transparency, and in the agency “show[ing] its work” by sharing ahead
of time what the FCC would be voting on. “It’s now routine for the agency to publish the exact text
of commission meeting items three weeks in advance of any votes being cast; to include a one-page
fact sheet describing in plain English what each item does; and to post a monthly blog from yours truly
introducing the agenda in a hopefully engaging way.” For the January meeting, Pai said he has invited
FCC bureaus, offices, and task forces to prepare presentations highlighting their accomplishments over
the past four years. (Radio World)
Verizon update. Verizon is expanding its “Food for Frontline Workers” program to doctors, nurses,
first responders and healthcare workers in six cities experiencing high volumes of COVID-19 cases. An
estimated 50,000 meals will be delivered during the 2020 holiday season and in January 2021. This
program is the continuation of Verizon’s initiative that kicked off in April, delivering more than 150,000
meals to frontline workers in cities across the U.S. including New York City. Verizon’s expanded initiative
will provide meals to healthcare workers and first responders in Milwaukee, Omaha, Minneapolis
and Chicago, with additional markets to include Sioux Falls and Los Angeles. “Our ‘Food for Frontline
Workers’ program is a way for us to deliver gratitude and support for first responders, healthcare
workers, and to the local business restaurants who have been hit hardest by the pandemic,” said Patty
Roze, Vice President, Verizon Public Sector. “By putting themselves on the front lines of the response to
COVID-19, first responders and healthcare workers have sacrificed their own comfort to care for others.
We see the best part of humanity in their selfless acts of heroism.” (Company release)
AT&T update. AT&T announced that AT&T Mobility and the Communications Workers of America have
reached agreements on one-year extensions of two Mobility contracts. The extended Mobility Orange
contract covers over 14,000 AT&T Mobility employees in 36 states and the District of Columbia. It goes
into effect on February 13, 2021, and expires on February 11, 2022. The extended Mobility Southeast
(or Mobility Black) contract covers nearly 10,000 AT&T Mobility employees in CWA District 3 – the
Southeast Region, which includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North
Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and St. Croix, USVI. It goes into effect on February 12, 2022, and
expires on February 10, 2023. Until the extended contracts take effect, employees are continuing to
work under their current contracts. (Company release)