WASHINGTON -- The Federal Communications Commission declared the latest and most lucrative auction of the public airwaves closed on Monday, with bids totaling nearly $13.9 billion.
The commission auctioned off 1,087 licenses over 28 days. It was the largest amount of radio spectrum usable for wireless services made available since the agency went to an auction format in 1994. The proceeds, still to be collected, will go to the U.S. Treasury.
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said the auction was "the biggest" and "most successful" in the commission's history.
The agency auctioned off enough spectrum to build an entire new national wireless network and vastly improve services offered by existing wireless providers.
